


Morty Q-405 And The Three Ricks

by MeganRosenberg



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Earth, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Cute, Danger, Dimension Travel, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Multiverse, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Portals, Protective Rick, Protectiveness, Sexual Abuse, You're Welcome, can't help it, cannibals, ha ha, i mean it is though, space, space travel, traumatizing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 83,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganRosenberg/pseuds/MeganRosenberg
Summary: A Morty who lives with a physically abusive Rick is rescued by a star ship full of Ricks collecting and saving unaccompanied Mortys. Morty Q-405 seems to be a magnet to danger and misfortune as he struggles to trust the new, unknown Ricks who look and even act so much like the man who has been abusing him for so long.
Comments: 152
Kudos: 232





	1. Chapter 1

xxxxxx

Chapter 1

xxxxxx

"Where are we, Rick?" Morty frowned, shrinking down slightly as he looked around the sort of strange-looking woods they were walking through. Rick hadn't really explained where they were going. He just woke Morty up rather violently and dragged him through a portal before Morty even had time to ask.

"Ubix-405." Rick answered simply. "But it doesn't matter. Not to you. Just shut your mouth and keep close. I'm not a fucking tour guide."

Morty frowned and looked down at his feet as he followed at a rather brisk pace behind his grandfather. Rick was walking so fast that Morty could barely keep up. He didn't seem to want his grandson there, so Morty wasn't sure why he'd dragged him along... Maybe just to carry stuff. These adventures Rick had been taking him on for the past several years were always the same - scary, painful, confusing, not at all enjoyable in any way...

It felt much more like work than anything, and Morty wasn't even being paid. Whenever they collected resources, gems, crystals, sand, plant materials... Morty never knew what it was for. He didn't get to keep any of it - not even when some of it actually looked really cool.

He tried to sneak back a crystal in his pocket once, as a souvenir... It glowed rainbow colors and just looked really awesome, even though he didn't know what it was really for. He had helped Rick fill up bags full of them, and just took one tiny one in his own pocket so he'd have something to remember the trip by - or maybe just something to remind him he had been to another planet, since the trip itself wasn't very fun. Rick found out, got really mad, yelled at him, hit him, took the crystal... Morty didn't make that mistake again.

Rick didn't ever explain what they were doing or really let Morty help in a way that was fun. He was always just dragged along, usually rather roughly. If he asked too many questions Rick yelled at him, sometimes even hit him if he was in a really bad mood. Morty couldn't say he really understood why Rick wanted him there. If Rick's responses to his grandson's mistakes were any indication, Morty was more trouble than he was worth. Rick always acted like he was angry that Morty was around, even though Rick himself was the one who forced him to be.

It was a shame the trips Rick took him on were all so dreadful. Morty was a fourteen year old boy traveling through space and different dimensions, meeting aliens, seeing insane-looking plants and animals and land formations... This planet had huge rings he could see in the sky and at least six different moons! It should have been awesome. But it wasn't. The adventures weren't fun and whimsical. They probably could have been if Rick included Morty more than just grabbing his arm in a bruising hand and dragging the boy behind him.

Rick barely seemed to care if Morty lived or died half the time. He'd save Morty from actual death, but that was about it, and Morty had a feeling he only did that so he could keep Morty around to carry his supplies or make the more dangerous treks and trades for him. Morty always seemed to be the one being sent down into tiny caves or slimy lairs. Rick didn't want to have to do that stuff himself, so Morty couldn't die.

That was the extent of Morty's worth, apparently. Sometimes when he resorted to saving himself from certain death, he couldn't honestly have said he felt confident Rick would have even stepped in if he needed to. Like the time a giant wereworm chased him down the goo-tunnels of a planet which Morty couldn't even remember the name of. Rick said they should split up, because the worm couldn't go two different directions and it would increase their odds...

The worm ended up following Morty of course, and Rick didn't come back for him. He escaped by luck and chance when the tunnel collapsed onto the worm. Then when Morty finally managed to make it back up to the surface, to Rick's space-ship, he could have sworn the man looked legitimately shocked to see him. Rick seemed to think Morty had died, and he didn't seem like he had been in a hurry to go make sure he was really gone or to try to save him. He was just loading up the wereworm goo they collected like that was all he cared about.

Rick also had a habit of rescuing Morty at the last minute, only after someone or something already hurt him, only after Rick had gotten whatever resource or treasure he came for - like Morty was a secondary priority - Rick didn't want Morty dead, but that wasn't the main goal of his adventures. He seemed like he'd save Morty if it was convenient, but wouldn't put too much effort into it.

Sometimes Morty swore it was luck and luck alone that saved him. He was always glad when Rick came back, but so often Morty could have easily been killed in the time it took Rick to return from whatever was more important to him than Morty's safety.

One time they got mixed up with some hostile aliens who threatened to shoot Morty if Rick didn't give back a treasure he stole from them and Rick didn't even flinch as he stood nearby watching as though completely bored and indifferent. The old man had made sure to get the gems he took back to the spaceship first, then came back and squished the aliens with the ship, saving Morty at the last minute. Although he did save him, Morty couldn't pretend he didn't notice how long it took... How long the aliens had to think about killing him. They had plenty of time. They could have done it while Rick was busy taking care of his treasure - the thing he obviously cared about much more than his grandson.

Morty wasn't sure Rick really cared about him at all. Rick got Morty hurt all the time, whether indirectly or by actually hitting him himself, and never seemed to regret it. He didn't comfort Morty, or help him patch up scrapes and bruises. He seemed to have no sympathy for Morty when the boy ended up injured, even when it was quite often Rick's fault that it happened.

Sometimes Rick even hurt him on purpose. He had very little patience and Morty seemed to get on his nerves more often than not. Rick was quick to hit him or yell at him when Morty screwed up. Sometimes Morty didn't even know what he had done wrong. He just knew Rick was mad when he felt pain from the man's hands.

Morty gasped a soft breath and stumbled back a few steps when he accidentally walked right into Rick's back when it seemed the man had stopped walking in the middle of the path.

"Watch it." Rick growled, turning around and glaring.

Morty shrunk down, staring up at Rick with wide eyes, debating whether to apologize or just stay quiet. Sometimes Morty saying anything at all - even that he was sorry - seemed to irritate his grandfather.

"Watch where you're fucking going, Morty." Rick repeated. "I don't bring you with me just so you can fuck everything up. All you have to do is fucking walk without running into me. Is it that fucking difficult? Pay attention to yourself."

"Sorry." Morty breathed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

"Shut up." Rick grumbled, shoving Morty's shoulder so that the boy stumbled back. "I'm gonna ask this guy where to go. Stay fucking here."

Morty brought his hands up toward his face, chewing nervously on his fingernails as he watched Rick walk off the path they had been walking on and toward a little cottage. This place seemed to be sort of back in time as far as technology went. So far, Morty had seen mostly thick forest and tiny houses with chimneys and thatched roofs. He hadn't seen any sign of cars, electricity, phone lines... It was kind of cute... but kind of scary too, since Morty didn't know if the aliens who lived here were nice or not.

As Rick knocked on the cottage's door and waited, Morty took a moment to look around some more. This planet kind of looked a lot like earth. The plants seemed fairly normal, except they had a more blue-color to them than Morty was used to. The dirt floor of the forest was extremely dark too - almost black, but Morty could see in its texture that it was indeed dirt - not oil or anything else that would have been black on earth.

The sky was blue-ish, like earth, but maybe had a bit more purple in it. The clouds looked pretty normal, sort of stormy-looking, but maybe it was going to rain soon. There seemed to be a lot of volcanic activity here too - not anything big so far that Morty saw, but there were places within the woods that just seemed to ooze a lava-like substance. It looked like lava at least. Morty hadn't gotten too close to it.

"We got like another two fuckin' miles to go." Rick grumbled as he walked back toward Morty, grabbing his wrist in a tight fist and dragging him on. "I guess portal guns don't work here. This is fuckin' bullshit."

"Ow..." Morty winced, grabbing toward Rick's hand and trying to pry it off of his arm.

Rick just squeezed his hand tighter as his rant continued. "I guess you can use 'em to get here, to leave here, but not to travel within the planet. Just won't even work. Not even just banned. Fuck, if it was just banned, I'd do it anyway. They'd never know, and it's a god damned dumb rule. But nope... They put an actual block up to prevent portal travel within the planet. Like I know it looks like they want to play medieval times here, but motherfuck. It's a god damned portal. They can still act like it's fifteen hundred fuckin' years ago and just let me use my damn portal gun. It's not stopping them from using all their shit. Just mad mine's better... Fuck these people."

"Rick-" Morty whimpered. "Y-you're hurting my arm..."

Rick glared down at him, squeezing Morty's wrist even tighter. "Stop bitching."

"I'm not..." Morty whispered, feeling his lower lip tremble. "You're hurting me... I'm coming with you. You don't have to drag me. J-just let go..."

Rick shook his head, but didn't loosen his grip. "You gotta make sure you don't get fucking lost. You're carrying my money in that back pack, so I don't want you going missing. You walked right into me a minute ago, so you're clearly lost in your own dumb little head. I'll let go if you start fucking paying attention."

"I will..." Morty breathed.

Rick let go and continued stomping is feet as he walked ahead, balling his hands into fists at his side. "I mean it, Morty. Don't fuck around and get yourself killed. I need that money. The Sultan has four really fucking rare energy orbs and he already named his price. I can haggle, but not that much. You lose that money and we're fucked."

Morty reached up and put his hands on the straps of the back pack he was carrying. He pulled the straps up. It was really starting to feel pretty heavy. I he had to guess, he'd say it weighed thirty or forty pounds.

He stared at the back of Rick's head as the man walked ahead of him. He wondered if Rick really didn't care about Morty at all. Like not even deep down in his heart. It definitely felt that way, but could it really be? That his grandfather, that his only family member he had left in this world, really, truly did not love him at all?

"R-Rick?" Morty asked in a small voice.

Rick continued walking, not even acknowledging Morty.

"Rick." Morty spoke louder, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath before continuing even without Rick looking back or saying anything. "Y-you don't want me to get lost either, right? N-not j-just the backpack... You don't want me to be gone... Right?"

Rick exhaled a loud, exaggerated breath and shook his head. Morty was sure he was rolling his eyes, but he couldn't see.

"I like spending time with you, Rick." Morty whispered, feeling tears in his eyes. "Y-you kinda act like you don't want me here, but you keep making me go with you... a-and I think it's kinda cool seeing all this stuff on other planets... I l-like that you bring me with you..." He lied. He didn't really enjoy it, but he knew the adventures had potential... if Rick would just be a little nicer. "I know I'm not as smart as you, and I mess up sometimes... But I hope you like me... even just a little."

"I don't." Rick growled, still looking ahead.

Morty frowned and looked down at his feet as he continued. He hoped Rick was just acting cold and detached because emotions were hard for him to express. He hoped his grandfather liked him, would care if Morty was gone...

As they walked further and further into the woods, distancing themselves from any obvious signs of civilization, Morty felt himself growing more and more tired. The backpack was so heavy. It felt like it was pretty full of coins. Unfortunately, this planet's currency seemed to be coins and only coins - no lightweight bills.

"Rick, this is getting really heavy... Do you think you could take a turn carrying it?" Morty finally asked. "My shoulders hurt."

Rick stopped in the middle of the path turning around and glaring at Morty. "This is the least you could do." He answered with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "You're lucky I even let you come with me to this shit. Stop bitching and come on."

"I didn't even want to come with you." Morty spoke back before he could tell himself to just shut up and do what Rick said.

"What's that, Morty?" Rick stared.

Morty let his mouth drop open as he stared up at Rick. He shouldn't have said that.

"N-nothing." Morty whispered, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"If you don't want to carry the backpack, if you don't want to be here with me... Then give it here. Go off into the woods. Get your fucking self home." Rick glared, reaching his hand out. "Give me it."

Morty shook his head and took a step back. "I'll carry it..." He spoke in a tiny voice.

"So you do want to come with me?" Rick stared. "You said you didn't want to be here, but you're in no fucking hurry to take care of yourself for once. You don't have to keep following me. By all means, go off on your own. See how long until a giant lizard grabs you up and eats you alive."

Morty's eyes widened. "A-are there giant lizards here?" He looked nervously around. He hadn't really seen any animal life in the forest thus far.

"Yeah. You wanna go fend for yourself? You want to find your own fucking way back home instead of using my shit all the time? Go for it. Give me the bag. I'll do my thing. You do yours. Invent your own god damned portal. Build your own fucking spaceship. Good fuckin' luck. Been nice knowing you, dipshit." He held his hand out again.

"No." Morty whispered, shaking his head and shrinking down. "I-I'll stay with you."

"That's what I fuckin' thought. Come on then. You mother fucking whiner... God, I wanna fucking punch you sometimes." Rick breathed.

Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout. Rick did punch him sometimes, and Morty didn't feel like he usually deserved it.

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes. Morty pulled the back pack straps close again. He wished Rick would carry at least half of them. It wouldn't be so heavy if they shared the weight. Rick was stronger than Morty too. It probably wouldn't feel so heavy for him even if he carried the whole thing.

Morty wondered what the coins looked like, what they were worth. It was really hard to say when dealing with alien currency. Each one could be worth a penny, or a billion dollars, or anywhere in between. Maybe even less than a penny, or more than a billion dollars.

Suddenly, Morty felt really overwhelmed with curiosity about these coins he'd been carrying for so long. They were so heavy. They were annoying as hell at the moment. He might as well take a look at them, occupy and entertain himself by checking them out while he was forced to lug them around.

Morty swung the backpack off of his shoulders and opened the top, peering down inside. The coins almost seemed to glow. He inhaled a small breath as his eyes widened. They were so cool-looking. They were various shades of neon - probably the different colors were worth different amounts.

"What are these coins worth, Rick?" Morty wondered as he walked, reaching his hand in and taking out a glowing purple coin. It felt cool and smooth in his hand and kind of reminded him of the glow sticks he used to play with on Independence Day when he and his family went to the annual fireworks show - before they all got killed.

"Worth more than you." Rick shrugged, not bothering to turn around.

"There's different colors. I just wonder if maybe the different colors are worth diff-" Morty cut himself off with a sharp gasp as he tripped over a tree root and fell forward, dropping the bag of coins so that he could catch himself with his hands against the ground.

Morty whimpered in pain as tears stung at his eyes. He caught himself really hard with his hands. His wrists both hurt pretty significantly.

Before he could pull himself back up off the ground, he felt Rick's hands on his arms, dragging him up rather roughly. "Motherfucker. Can you stop fucking around for god damn fifteen minutes so we can just get there?" Rick shoved Morty back as soon as he was on his feet, causing the boy to stumble backward and land on the ground again.

Morty caught himself with his hands once more, wincing a sharp cry when it made his wrists hurt even more than they already did. "Rick, I think I hurt my-"

"Shut up!" Rick screamed, closing in on Morty and grabbing the front of his shirt. He dragged Morty toward the backpack he had dropped and threw him to the ground so that the boy landed among quite a few coins that had fallen out of the bag when Morty dropped it. "Pick them up!" Rick growled.

"M-my wrists-" Morty whimpered.

"Some of 'em went into the magma stream, Morty. That'll fuckin' melt 'em. Look at that." Rick grabbed the back of Morty's neck and dragged him toward the edge of the path, forcing his face down close to an oozing flow of bright orange lava.

"Rick, please!" Morty winced. Rick was forcing his face down so low, too close to the hot lava. He could feel its heat. "I didn't mean to!"

Rick let out a low growling sound as he hauled Morty back up, only to backhand him pretty hard across his face.

Morty brought his hand up to his cheek, blinking back tears as he cowered down. He didn't think he should bother trying to explain himself anymore. Rick was mad, and he was going to stay mad. Morty trying to defend himself was probably just making the man even more angry.

"This backpack, and these coins are my fucking property." Rick explained in a low voice. "You can drop and destroy your own shit. You be careful with mine. If I don't have enough coins to pay this guy when we get there, I'm gonna fucking beat the shit out of you."

Morty sniffed back tears and looked down at the coins scattered across the forest floor. He hadn't meant to drop them. Only a handful got knocked into the lava and melted. Most of them just had to be picked up.

"Pick 'em up and let's fucking go. Pay attention to yourself, Morty. How the fuck do you trip over flat fucking ground, run into the back of me...? Just... Like fucking watch where you're going for once. God damn..." Rick glared. "I'm so fucking sick of you."

Morty inhaled a small breath and started silently collecting the coins. He didn't look up at Rick, but could see out of the corner of his eye that the man was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, carefully watching his grandson's every move.

He wished Rick would just leave him out of his quests. Morty was barely any help. He usually accidentally screwed things up. Rick didn't seem to enjoy his company or appreciate any help Morty tried to offer. He just couldn't understand why Rick always brought him along.

As he piled the rest of the coins into the bag and closed the top, Morty looked up at Rick, debating asking the man... But he knew it wouldn't be worth his breath. He'd asked many times. Rick never explained. Maybe he just wanted someone to yell at during his adventures. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was the whole reason he kept Morty around - because he just wanted someone smaller and weaker than him to push around and be cruel to.

It seemed so. Rick didn't love him. Didn't care about him... He just enjoyed tormenting people. He didn't like Morty. He didn't like being around his grandson, or talking to him, sharing stories or inside jokes. Rick just flat out didn't like him, but he liked abusing him. He knew Morty was probably going to screw up, and he kept bringing him anyway... Probably solely to find reasons to hit him and yell at him.

Morty breathed out a sigh and dragged himself to his feet, putting the backpack back on his shoulders and following Rick down the dirt path.

xxxxxx


	2. Chapter 2

xxxxxx

Chapter 2

xxxxxx

As he followed his grandfather down the worn path through the forest, Morty found himself getting lost in his own thoughts. He just couldn't understand Rick's motives for involving him in all of this. Was it just so Morty could carry things for him? Was that worth it to Rick? Because Morty dropped things, lost things... all the time.

If there were ever hostile aliens or any kind of weird monsters on these quests, Morty was always the first to nearly get killed. Rick seemed to have to put a lot of effort into just keeping Morty alive - which Morty was fairly sure he did just so Morty could continue carrying all of his supplies. Morty felt like he was more trouble than he could possibly be worth.

He wondered if Rick ever did like him. Maybe Morty did something wrong to make his grandfather annoyed and detached. Maybe Morty just wasn't lovable. Maybe Rick cared about him once, but got to know Morty better over the years and learned that he wasn't really all that great. Maybe Morty was frustrating and stupid and just impossible to love.

He stared down at his feet as he walked. The dirt path wasn't as worn down here as it was back by the cottages. It seemed weird that he and Rick would be meeting someone who lived so deep in the forest. This whole place was weird, in fact. What did Rick call the things they were buying? Some kind of energy something or another? In a place like this? Everything looked so old and technologically stunted.

Morty kicked a pebble as he continued walking forward. Each time he caught back up with it, he kicked it again, until it disappeared under a bush. The path was really starting to look rough. It was barely even a path anymore.

As he walked on, Morty thought about his relationship with his grandfather, which he felt like he valued a lot more than Rick did. Morty really wanted to be friends with Rick. So, so badly. Rick was the only family Morty had left. He thought Rick was smart and kind of funny sometimes... He really looked up to the man. Unfortunately, Rick definitely didn't feel the same way.

Morty couldn't decide if he should take it personally or not. Did Rick really care about anyone other than himself? Was it a problem with Morty or a problem with Rick? Morty knew he wasn't always easy to be around. He messed things up, asked stupid questions, tripped, stumbled, got in the way. He knew he was far from perfect... but did Rick like anyone at all? Would Rick have liked Morty if Morty were smarter and less accident-prone?

Back when Morty's mom, dad, and Summer were still alive, Rick didn't seem to like them much either. He moved in with them when Morty was ten, and Morty's mom, dad, and sister didn't last too much longer after that. It was about four months before one of Rick's experiments went wrong, and that was the end of the Smith family - except for Morty.

Rick and Morty had been off traveling in space, stealing some kind of weird diamond-looking things. They came back to the house smoldering, and the entire family was dead. The investigator said something in the garage exploded, releasing a toxic gas, and then flames. Morty's mom and Summer died from the fumes. His dad died from the fire... They were all gone in a matter of minutes.

Rick refused to take the blame for it, but Morty knew it was one of his inventions. Morty didn't even want Rick to feel guilty or anything. It was an accident. But still... he kind of thought Rick should at least acknowledge that he screwed up. Rick had just shrugged it off, like his daughter, son-in-law, and grand-daughter hadn't just died. Like he honestly didn't feel upset by it.

Morty was upset. Morty was completely fucking devastated. His family wasn't perfect, but he loved them, and the day they died was the worst day of Morty's life. He cried so much, and Rick only stared at him like he was disgusted by Morty's reaction, like Morty being sad and heartbroken was annoying to him.

It didn't take long at all for Rick to find himself and Morty a new house, with a bigger garage and smaller everything else. It was a one-bedroom house. Rick got the bed room. Morty slept on the couch. Rick seemed even colder, even more detached since the rest of the family was gone. He was meaner than ever to Morty. He got angry quicker, hit him more, yelled at him a lot more... He'd hurt Morty in crueler, more deliberate ways, like burning him, using his belt to hit him...

Morty was on his own for meals more often than not. Rick didn't cook - not for anyone but himself. On the occasion that he made too much or didn't end up liking what he made, Rick would pass it off on Morty, but usually that didn't happen. Rick kind of treated Morty like a stranger, ignoring him until he wanted something from him... but still seeming to expect Morty to follow his rules. And the consequences for not following the rules or for accidentally screwing something up were very painful, degrading, often emotionally devastating...

It wasn't like that before. When Morty's mom, dad, and sister were alive, Rick was more careful with him. He seemed to have a bit more patience. Maybe that was where everything went wrong - maybe the accident made Rick just not care about anyone or anything anymore. Maybe he wouldn't have such a short temper, maybe he wouldn't be violent and abusive if the rest of his family was still here. Maybe he did blame himself, just quietly in his head, letting it eat him up inside while outside he pretended not to care. Maybe he cared about Morty too, and just didn't want to show it.

Morty forced a small smile onto his lips as he considered that. Maybe Rick did love him. Maybe he just felt scared to show it because he thought he might lose Morty one day too. Maybe if something really serious happened, if Morty was ever in really real danger, Rick would prove that he loved him.

He wished it were obvious that Rick cared about him, that he didn't kind of almost hope something life-threatening would happen just so he could get proof... But he supposed a maybe was better than a definitely not. Maybe Rick cared about him. That was the best he could get at the moment, and he was going to embrace it. Rick didn't show that he cared because he didn't have to at the moment. One day he'd have to, and Morty would know for sure.

Morty was still smiling, until he looked up and found that Rick was no longer in front of him.

Inhaling a small breath, Morty looked to his right, then his left. Rick wasn't there. The path wasn't there... Everything looked the same - leaves, trees, bushes... Morty looked down at his feet. Slowly but surely the path had been turning into not a path... but he didn't notice. Did the path just end, or did he wander off the actual path? He turned around. The path wasn't behind him either. How did he get so far off-track?

"Rick?" Morty squeaked out in a tiny voice. Rick was going to be mad if he knew Morty got himself lost... He'd gone on and on about Morty needing to pay attention to where he was going. Morty just proved his grandfather right. He did need to pay attention... He was an oblivious idiot with his head in the clouds.

When Rick didn't answer, Morty called out his name again, even louder. Then a third and a forth time, louder and louder still. He couldn't see or hear any trace of the man.

"Grandpa Rick!" Morty yelled, picking up his pace as he walked back the way he came. Or at least, he thought it was the way he came... Maybe it wasn't... He turned slightly to the side, tripping over a root as he stumbled forward. "Rick! Where are you!?" His voice shook as he caught himself on his hands and knees, then scrambled back up and quickened his pace.

Morty could feel panic rising in his chest as he gripped the back pack straps tight in his hands. Rick said the woods were dangerous... Morty didn't know for sure why - were there cannibals? Monsters? Hostile tribes? Volcanoes that could erupt without warning off the main path? Grandpa Rick said something about the possibility of a lizard eating him earlier. Was that real? Were there really lizard monsters in the woods?

"Rick!" He shouted, tripping yet again and falling down onto the ground. "Ow... Rick! I'm lost!" He whimpered, shrinking down nervously when he swore he heard the sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping nearby. "Rick? Is th-that you?" He whispered, looking toward the noise.

Morty stared with wide eyes as he heard the plants being pushed aside while someone or something made their way toward him. If it was Rick, he wasn't saying so... But maybe Rick wouldn't bother. Morty wondered if Rick was going to hit him when he found him. He'd rather be hit than attacked by a monster or boiled alive by hot lava though...

"R-rick?" Morty whispered, breathing quick breaths as he stared into the thick woods. As soon as he saw what was making the noise, Morty's breath caught in his throat. He felt himself freeze in fear and his eyes grew wide.

It wasn't Rick. It was some kind of huge, lizard-looking creature, just like Rick had warned him about - almost like a dinosaur but somehow even more horrifying, and it was running right for him.

"Help me!" Morty screamed, crawling backward on the ground as the creature closed in on him. "Rick! Someone! Heeelllp!"

Morty let out a shaking cry as he dragged himself up off the ground and started to run. He had no idea if he was going in the right direction to be reunited with Rick. He just knew he had to get away from the monster.

He ran and ran, feeling his breaths frantically rising and falling in his chest as his muscles in his legs burned. There was no way he was going to outrun this giant lizard... But he had no choice but to try.

"Help me! Help!" Morty sobbed as he ran. His voice was shaking so hard he could barely even understand himself. He was so scared. "Please help me! Please!" He screamed.

Morty let out a shaking, terrified yelp as he felt something grab onto him from behind, snatching at the backpack and pulling him harshly backward onto the ground. "No!" He screamed, shrugging out of the backpack that the creature had bitten into and was refusing to let go. He grabbed the strap for a moment and tugged, but the monster only jerked its head back, dragging both the backpack and Morty along with it.

Morty had no choice but to let the backpack go. Rick would be mad... but at least maybe Morty would survive this.

Sobbing shaking, terrified cries, Morty crawled away, trying to scramble to his feet, but tripping himself up in his state of panic. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see the giant creature crunch the back pack in its mouth, swallowing the entire thing.

"Oh fuck..." Morty whimpered. Now Rick was going to be pissed at him... If Morty even lived long enough to ever see Rick again. He continued trying to scramble away, managing to make it to his feet as he stumbled forward. His legs were so tired. They felt like jelly. And his lungs felt almost collapsed. He could barely breathe.

Morty screamed a pained cry when the creature reached out a clawed hand and viciously lashed out toward him, just barely dragging its claws down across the back of Morty's shoulder. Stinging pain shot through his arm and back as he held back tears and continued running.

"Please help me!" Morty sobbed, his voice shaking with pain and fear. He wasn't sure if Rick was even close. Probably no one else was either, but he didn't feel like he was capable of saving himself this time, and had no other choice but to beg for help from anyone who might possibly hear him.

Morty tried to run faster as he ignored the stinging feeling on is back, but the monster grabbed at him again, grabbing ahold of his upper-arm and chest and pulling him backward, throwing him painfully back down against the ground.

Morty felt the back of his head hit the ground pretty hard as he landed, and could feel several claw marks stinging on his upper-back, shoulder, and chest. He was so exhausted, in so much pain. Whimpering softly, Morty brought his hand up toward his head where he had hit it. He blinked a few quick blinks, swallowed painfully, then forced himself to focus on the very large problem still facing him. He was still being attacked. He had to keep himself alert. He couldn't just focus on pain and the fact that his vision was growing clouded. He had to get himself out of here.

Crawling backward on shaking limbs, Morty whimpered panicked breaths. This monster seemed completely wild - not something he was going to be able to reason with. He couldn't ask it to leave him alone, bribe it, beg it... He just had to get away, but that was looking increasingly impossible. No one was out here to help him. Rick must have gotten so far ahead that he didn't even hear Morty's screams for help. He was on his own.

As the lizard-monster looked back at Morty, the boy shrunk down, raising his arms up to cover his face as he let out a defeated sob. He didn't want to die... but it seemed there was no way out of this, so he at least didn't want to see himself die. He squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered a shaking cry, then screamed in pain when a giant, clawed hand swiped down at him, cutting two sharp lines across his arm.

"Get back!" An unfamiliar voice shouted, and Morty suddenly felt someone grabbing onto his shirt, hauling him up off the ground and shoving him back out of the way.

He blinked back tears and looked around to find two human-looking aliens dressed in gear he'd expect a knight to wear were waving large flaming torches toward the creature. The first man shoved Morty back behind him and the second grabbed onto him with an arm across his back as Morty hid his face in his hands and kept his back toward the lizard. If they were all going to die here, Morty still didn't want to witness it.

"Get back, beast!" The first man growled, waving his torch threateningly toward the monster.

Morty felt the second man holding him close to his chest as he kept his eyes squeezed securely closed and tried to focus on breathing. Morty was still scared half to death, and in quite a bit of pain.

The two men shouted more at the monster. Morty heard the sound of the fire moving through the air swiftly as they waved their torches toward it. He felt the second man move while still hugging his arm around Morty, almost as though he just threw something. Then he heard a shrill shriek, rustling leaves, and silence.

"I-is it gone?" Morty whispered, peaking out from the stranger's embrace.

"What are you doing out here all alone? Who are you?" The first man growled. "You could have been killed. These forests are no place for a young boy to be playing. You realize you almost got eaten? Why would you come out here by yourself?"

"I-I was with my grandpa... R-rick... I d-didn't mean to be here alone... We were supposed to meet someone out here to buy uh... S-some kind of um... w-what was it... energy... um... en-energy balls?" Morty frowned.

"Oh. Rick Sanchez... The Sultan mentioned this - he's selling you energy orbs. Rick's the alien from Earth..." He noted to the other man, then looked back down toward Morty. "Where's he? Why are you alone?" The man frowned. "Did the skribeet claim him?"

"The what?" Morty stared, blinking in confusion.

"The skribeet. The creature which almost killed you just now? Did it claim Rick's life?" The man rephrased.

"Oh... Um... No. I hope not. I got lost..." Morty breathed. "I-I don't know wh-where he is... I was walking b-behind him, and I got lost. I wasn't p-paying attention... I looked up and he was gone..." He glanced around himself. "Is it gone? Is the monster gone?"

The man holding onto him exhaled tiredly, shaking his head as he pulled Morty back by his arm and looked him up and down. "He's hurt. Should we take him to the castle?" He asked his companion.

Morty breathed in and out quick breaths. He wasn't sure what to make of this situation. On the one hand, he didn't know these people. They seemed kind of annoyed with him. He wasn't sure he wanted to go with them to their castle. On the other hand, if he didn't go with them, he'd be alone in the forest - where another monster might attack him. He was just like two seconds away from being killed. He really didn't want to be alone in the woods again if he could help it.

He also had several pretty painful claw-marks on his arms, back, and chest. He kind of wanted to get cleaned and bandaged up so they wouldn't get infected... If these people had a medic of some kind in their castle, that would be reassuring - to make sure Morty wasn't going to die from his wounds.

"Rick will probably show up there if he's still alive, so we can give this one back to him." The other man noted. "At the very least, we can tend to his injuries and put him to work if his master doesn't come and claim him."

Morty let out a breathless, nervous laugh. "Rick's not my master... W-whatever that even means... He's my grandpa..."

"Come on." The one holding onto him ignored Morty's comment and started leading him back the way they had come.

Morty swallowed nervously, hugging his injured arm to his chest as he followed the men toward their castle. He hoped Rick did indeed come and claim him. He hoped his grandfather wasn't dead... But he also hoped Rick wouldn't be mad that Morty had lost his money.

Obviously Rick was going to be mad though... He was always mad, and he had been very clear earlier when he told Morty he cared more about his money than his grandson. He wouldn't care that Morty almost died. He'd just be mad that the coins were all gone.

Morty looked down and stuck his lower lip out in a pout as he let the strangers lead him further into an uncertain but bleak-looking future. Either Rick was gone and Morty was going to be stuck here possibly being these people's servant for the rest of his life, or Rick wasn't gone, would reunite with Morty... and might literally kill him for losing the backpack.

Either way, Morty's heart pounded harder and harder with each passing second. It didn't look like there was any possible result to this mess that wasn't going to be awful. He was so screwed.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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The men who saved him, who later informed him they called themselves the Ubixian Knights, didn't take long getting Morty to their castle. Though Morty was kind of fearful about these aliens - whether they were kind or not, whether they were going to force him to be their servant like they previously implied... they actually were being extremely kind and careful with him.

As soon as they got to the castle, the Ubixian Knights called a medic to tend to the claw-marks stretched over Morty's arm, shoulder, and chest. He didn't appreciate that they took his shirt and threw it away... but it was kind of torn up and stained with his blood, so he understood. They had some kind of ointment that took the pain away almost completely, which he was very grateful for.

After cleaning the wounds, they applied to cream and put some kind of gauze pads over the biggest of the scratches. It was almost unreal how much the cream helped. What were moments earlier horribly stinging scratches that made Morty legitimately want to cry were practically un-noticeable afterward.

Then they led him into a room with a fireplace, wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and gave him a warm drink that tasted kind of like apple cider. They left him there by himself, sitting in a very large and comfortable armchair, and informed him they were going to go speak with The Sultan and that he should feel free to make himself at home in this room in the meantime.

Mory yawned as he looked around the space. There were shelves of books, a game that looked almost like chess on a table surrounded by four chairs, the fireplace complete with photos of various aliens who looked similar to the ones who rescued him - human-like, but very tall and with pale blue skin, perhaps a few extra fingers on each hand - it seemed like different ones of the aliens had different numbers of fingers... unless Morty was just so stressed he was counting them wrong when he took note of it.

The room felt cozy and comfortable. The blanket they had given him was soft like flannel, and the drink reminded him of an almost forgotten trip to a pumpkin patch he'd taken with his mom, dad, and Summer - before his grandfather came back into their lives. It was so cold that day. He remembered shivering - being convinced it was the coldest day in history. His mom had given him her jacket, but he was still cold... Until she bought him the warm cider. Just having that drink in his hands, making his almost numb fingers tingle made him feel like his whole being was glowing. That one little moment stood out in his mind as one of few very pleasant memories from his life. And the cider that day had tasted so damn delicious, so comforting.

Morty smiled and took another sip of the drink. It was very sweet - maybe sweeter than a cider on Earth would taste. It was warm and a little bubbly - like a carbonated drink... but a little different somehow. The fruit flavor was also a little off from apple. Of course, he was on a completely different planet, so he wasn't surprised. It probably wasn't even apple cider. It was probably from a fruit he'd never heard of.

Morty closed his eyes as he held the cup firmly in his hands and leaned back in the chair and exhaled a tired breath. All of this warm comfort and reminders of good memories was making him sleepy. He wondered if the Ubixians would be offended if he just went to sleep here. Rick had woken him up so early. He'd been tired all day... That, and running for his life, carrying the heavy backpack, walking so far through te woods... He was exhausted.

He was left by himself in the warm room for a little while, and honestly felt more or less comfortable and safe for the moment. He did still a degree of unease about the whole situation though - about Rick being unaccounted for, about the money he was responsible for being gone, and about the mention of Morty being 'put to work,' and about the fact that appearances could be deceiving and he didn't really know if these people were actually good or not.

For now, however, he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. His heart wasn't pounding out of his chest, his breaths had calmed down... He didn't feel like anyone at the castle was going to purposefully hurt him or kick him out to fend for himself. They seemed nice enough so far. No one was mean or violent yet. No one suggested that they were going to force him to stay here if he didn't want to... They were just being really nice, making sure he was warm, comfortable... He felt pretty safe... But he did worry about what was going to happen when/if Rick got here. Morty lost his grandfather's money. The lizard-monster ate it. It was gone, and there was no getting it back.

He also worried about what would happen if Rick never did get here. If a huge lizard monster tried to kill Morty, a huge lizard monster could have attacked Rick too. What if he didn't survive? What if Morty didn't have a grandpa anymore? Didn't have a way home? Rick was a flawed man, but Morty still loved him and counted on him. Rick might not have done so for the right reasons, but he took care of Morty... kind of. He protected him, usually, gave him a place to sleep, bought food sometimes, maybe loved Morty somewhere deep down. Morty didn't want Rick to be gone. He didn't want to be on his own.

Morty breathed out a gasp and stood up when the door to the room he'd been left in suddenly opened. An human-like alien who looked a lot like the knights who saved him only who was dressed in a long robe and quite a bit of jewelry walked through with two guards on either side of him. Maybe he was the Sultan. He looked like royalty. Morty was pretty sure 'Sultan' was basically a term that was equivalent to 'king...' if his knowledge of Aladdin was any indication.

Swallowing nervously, Morty bit his lower lip and stared at the three men as he quickly put his cup down on the table, suddenly feeling like maybe he wasn't supposed to have it and would be yelled at for having it. He wasn't sure if he should introduce himself, or bow or shake the man's hand... So he just nervously stared instead.

"Good evening." The regal-looking alien spoke with a very small, controlled smile. "I'm The Sultan of this land. I understand you're traveling with Rick Sanchez, who I've made previous arrangements with about a negotiation? You mean to purchase my energy orbs?"

Morty swallowed again, nodding quickly. He couldn't get himself to speak. He was too nervous. Maybe The Sultan was counting on the money too. Maybe Rick wasn't going to be the only one completely fucking pissed at him for losing the back pack. Why would Rick put Morty in charge of something so important? Rick knew Morty screwed up all the time... It wasn't like the man could possibly be surprised that Morty might lose or drop or break something... Rick hated that about him, so why give him this heavy responsibility?

"We haven't been in contact with Rick in a while. When did you last see him?" The Sultan asked, waving his two guards away. They walked out the door and closed it behind them. "It's troubling that my knights found you in such a precarious position with Rick nowhere to be found. I was promised quite a bit of currency for these orbs..."

Morty inhaled a small breath. Rick always talked to the important people on this quests. Morty didn't know what to do. What if this guy was really, really angry about the money being gone? What if Rick never came back and Morty was stuck here... They might put Morty in a dungeon, or worse - kick him out were he'd be killed by a monster in the woods.

The Sultan cleared his throat and looked with raised eyebrows when Morty still hadn't answered. "Rick Sanchez... Do you know where he is? Where my payment is?"

Morty swallowed nervously, but finally forced himself to answer. He couldn't just keep staring at this guy like an idiot. He had to talk. "I... I don't know where Rick is... I got lost from him like maybe ten minutes before your knights found me... b-but Rick doesn't have the money..."

The Sultan's half-smile fell into a frown and his shoulders slumped slightly. "He doesn't?"

Morty shook his head. "I had it... Th-the monster that was chasing me ate it..." He breathed, hearing his voice shaking as he swallowed a nervous gulp.

"Ate it?" The Sultan frowned

"Y-yeah... I'm sorry... It was chasing me and grabbed the backpack right off of me with its mouth and ate it. The backpack h-had the money in it... I couldn't do anything to stop it..." Morty heard his voice shaking slightly. He was so nervous. He had no idea how this man was going to react to this news, and he hated that he had to deal with it alone. Ordinarily Rick would have sorted it out, and then if he was mad at Morty for it, he'd wait until they were alone to hit him or yell at him - or both. Now Morty was going to have to deal with that and whatever The Sultan might do.

"I'm sorry." Morty breathed again, his voice so small he could barely hear it. "It was an accident."

The Sultan nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes and looking Morty up and down.

"I didn't mean to lose it... I tried to keep ahold of it, but the monster just yanked it off my arms and I didn't want to die..." Morty stared with wide eyes, taking steps back as The Sultan took steps toward him. "I really am sorry... I promise..." He breathed as his back hit the wall and The Sultan kept walking toward him.

"This is disappointing news..." The Sultan frowned, still closing in on Morty.

"M-maybe we can get more money... R-rick is pretty good at gambling, and he might be able to win more or something... O-or he could make inventions or something you could use... or sell. He's really smart..." Morty whimpered. "Please... I didn't mean to lose it... Don't be mad. I really didn't mean to... Don't-"

"Shhh..." The Sultan smiled slightly as he put his finger up to Morty's lips, effectively silencing him. "Don't panic, child. I'm not angry with you. I understand it was an accident. I would have liked to have the money, but money isn't the only thing I value. We can work something out."

"We can?" Morty breathed.

"Of course." The Sultan grinned, putting his hand on Morty's face and running it down toward the boy's neck. "There are plenty of things worth more than money."

"Um... I don't... Wh-" Morty stuttered, trying to shrink down as the Sultan put his other hand against the wall, effectively blocking Morty's only escape route. This guy was giving him a really, really bad feeling. He kind of just wanted out of this whole castle now. Maybe he'd be safer out in the woods with the monsters.

"You are very young, aren't you?" The Sultan breathed, moving his hand over Morty's collar and rubbing his thumb there lightly. "Very small, as humans are, but small even for a human. Very small, very soft. Very, very innocent."

"I... uh... W-what?" Morty breathed, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as he narrowed his eyes and grimaced. The Sultan was creeping him out more and more with each passing second. At first Morty feared they might want him to work off the debt. Now it was looking like The Sultan might want something far worse.

"How old are you, child?" The Sultan wondered, still rubbing his hand uncomfortably on Morty's collar. "In Earth years." He added.

Morty swallowed, trying to shrink down, but only finding The Sultan's grip becoming more firm when he tried to distance himself. "I'm um... F-fourteen..." He breathed. "Th-that's n-not an adult..." He added.

The Sultan was still grinning and amused smirk as he continued rubbing his thumb slowly back and forth over Morty's collar bone. "Four energy orbs... You could be my guest for four days. One day per orb. It would be my honor, and the honor of my staff to have you here."

Morty shook his head and shrunk down away from the man's hand. "Um... I d- I don't think so-"

"Excuse me?" The Sultan glared, moving his hand down and grabbing Morty's arm pretty hard. "I don't remember posing that as a question... I've not had others refuse such a generous offer. You would be my guest. It's practically me paying you..."

"I just... Th-thank you for the offer... Just... I don't think..." Morty stammered. "W-we maybe don't want the um... the orbs anymore... So I'll just go wait outside for Rick." He tugged at his arm, but The Sultan just squeezed his hand tighter. Morty winced. "Please let go of me... Y-you're hurting me..." He whispered.

"I was promised payment." The Sultan stared, squeezing his large hand tighter around the boy's arm. "If you lost the money, you're obligated to come up with alternative payment. This is the payment I want."

"B-but I don't... I didn't... We can get more money..." Morty breathed, pulling at his arm again. He felt a bruise forming under the man's hand as his grip tightened more and more, and Morty felt tears stinging his eyes. "Please let me go..."

"Four days. I'll treat you very well. There's no need to be frightened." The Sultan went on. "Being a guest at my castle is a privilege most on this planet could only dream of. I only ask for your company. Four days. Then the orbs will belong to your master, and you will as well."

Morty shook his head. "R-Rick's not m-my master... He's my g-grandpa... I don't belong to him... He's the one who wants the energy orbs... Y-you can ask him how he can pay. I don't even want them..." He pulled on his arm again, causing The Sultan to grip him even tighter. "Please let me go..." Morty whispered.

"You should feel grateful I'm offering this to you. To be permitted to stay at my castle? To enjoy my company and the comforts of my dwelling?" The Sultan frowned. "It's disrespectful to refuse. This is a gift to us both."

"I don't want to stay... I want to go home..." Morty whimpered, feeling tears stinging his eyes.

"Your home is here, for the next four days. Don't be difficult, child. Just do what I say... You might like it. You might choose to stay here long after the four days are over, if I allow you." The Sultan suggested, leaning in closer, squeezing his one hand around Morty's arm and running the next down into the blanket Morty had wrapped around his shoulders and over his ribs.

"Stop!" Morty gasped, reaching up and shoving the man firmly, but not as hard as he could. He didn't want to make him mad... But he wanted to not be touched. "Stop it! Please!"

"Shhh..." The Sultan breathed, pushing his hand firmly against Morty's chest, running it down toward his waist as the blanket fell down around Morty's feet, leaving is chest exposed. "You owe me."

"No!" Morty whimpered, shrinking down, grabbing toward the man's hands and trying to pry them off of himself. "Don't touch me! Stop!" He cried.

"I won't hurt you. You're okay." The Sultan whispered, fumbling toward the button on Morty's pants. "Don't cry, little one. You're alright... It won't hurt."

"No!" Morty sobbed, reaching down and grabbing at the Sultan's hand as the man pulled down Morty's zipper. "Let me go! Stop! Please! Please!" He cried breathlessly. "I don't wanna do this! Get off of me! Don't touch me!" He whimpered.

"It won't hurt, young one. Don't fret over this. I'll be quite gentle; I assure you. Please cooperate so this can be pleasant for bot of us. Don't be difficult." The Sultan warned, reaching down with the hand that he had been gripping Morty's arm with and using both hands to start to tug Morty's pants down.

"Get off of me!" Morty screamed, balling both hands into fists. "Get the fuck off of me!" He punched out with one, then the other, as hard as he could, causing the Sultan to stumble back just enough for Morty to dart past him toward the door.

Morty swung the door open, not looking back, and barely looking forward as he huffed frantic, sobbing breaths. He didn't know where he was going - where he could go. He needed Rick to get back home, but he feared what Rick would do to him when he learned Morty lost his money. He was completely screwed no matter what he did from here.

"Where are you going?" One of the guards yelled after him. He heard footfalls in the hall. He was being followed.

Morty shook his head and kept running. He didn't know the layout of this place. It was so big. He didn't know if the Sultan was still following, if the guards would allow the man to hurt him if they knew what it was he had been trying to do... He just wanted out of here.

As he ran, Morty grabbed at the waist of his pants, holding them up and sobbing. He couldn't focus enough to zip or button them, so he just held them up with shaking fingers as he ran as fast as he could.

He didn't stop until someone grabbed his arms, at which point he immediately started thrashing and screaming. "Let go! Let me go!" He begged, squeezing his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Morty." It was Rick's voice. "Stop it. Calm down." He demanded.

"Rick?" Morty breathed, opening his eyes and immediately throwing himself against the man, wrapping his arms around Rick's waist and sobbing.

"Ugh..." Rick groaned, grabbing at Morty's arms and trying to pry him off of him. "What the hell's your problem? Where the fuck did you go? How do you get lost following four feet behind me, you dipshit? Where's your fucking shirt?"

"Rick, I wanna go home!" Morty sobbed. "T-the Sultan... He-" Morty choked a breathless whimper.

"What. He wanted the fucking money you lost? Are you fucking kidding me, Morty?" Rick growled, finally roughly pulling Morty away and glaring down at him. "I talked to the Ubixian Knights. They told me they found you. That a skribeet almost fucking ate you and you lost the fucking backpack. I gave you one fucking job. Now we gotta find a way to pay this fucker so he doesn't execute us."

"L-let's just portal outta here." Morty breathed, still sniffing back shaking cries.

"No. I'm not leaving without my fuckin' orbs. And these guys know how to travel through the multiverse too. They might come after us. We made a fucking deal, and we've got to honor it." Rick stared, looking Morty up and down, maybe noticing he was shaking, crying, injured. "Why you acting like a little bitch?" He frowned.

Morty's lip trembled. "T-the Sultan tried... He..." Morty hesitated, not wanting to put any of it into words. He looked back down the hallway he had come from. No one was following him anymore. Now would be a good chance for him and Rick to just fucking go. Even if these guys could travel through space and from dimension to dimension, they didn't know where Rick and Morty lived. They'd probably never find them.

"He what, Morty. Hurt your fucking feelings when he called you out for being worthless. Newsflash, kid: you are worthless. You only had to carry a backpack and fucking follow the one person in your life who isn't a dumbass. You just had to look at the back of my head and make sure you could keep seeing it while you just fucking walked... And you couldn't god damned manage." Rick stared.

"N-no... Rick, he tried to take my pants off... He was grabbing me... He said I had to stay with him for four days to pay for the energy orbs..." Morty explained.

Rick narrowed his eyes. "Just stay with him for four days? That doesn't sound hard. That's all he wants?"

Morty shook his head. "No. It's not just staying here, Rick..." Morty frowned. Did Rick not just hear what he said? "He was rubbing his hand over my chest... He unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. He started taking them off of me... I told him to stop and he wouldn't."

"So, what? He wants to like squeeze your dick or something? Finger your asshole?" Rick laughed and shook his head. "I'd be more than willing to let him do that to me for four energy orbs, Morty. Don't be fucking selfish." Rick grabbed Morty's arm and started dragging him back the way he'd come.

"W-what? Rick!" Morty gasped, dragging his feet and grabbing at his grandfather's hand. "Rick, stop! H-he tried to hurt me, Rick! Please don't make me go back! I'm scared! Take me home! Please!"

"Four days, Morty. Just let him grope all over you and whatever for four days. He's a sultan. Rich, fat, lazy. He'll probably just want to suck your little dick and cuddle. It'll be easy. He's a privileged, lazy, rich guy. He's not gonna expend the energy to do anything really good. If anything you're gonna be disappointed that it doesn't last long enough. Just lay there and let him do whatever. You'll fucking live. That's a damn good deal. It's pretty much free." Rick shrugged. "Hey, Sultan. I got your guest here! You want him for four days? It's a deal."

Morty felt his heart pounding and his lungs working overtime as the Sultan emerged from the room he had previously cornered Morty in. He looked annoyed. Rick's hand around Morty's arm was squeezing tight as he dragged the boy forward.

"Rick, no! Please!" Morty sobbed, grabbing desperately at his grandfather's hand. He was so fucking trapped. Rick was supposed to be his way out of this. Rick was his ticket home. Rick was supposed to be angry that the Sultan grabbed him and tried to hurt him. Rick was supposed to yell at the guy, tell him the deal was off, shoot him in a fit of rage for even suggesting that he would touch Morty in a sexual way.

But Rick wasn't doing any of that. He didn't care that Morty was scared and hurt. He didn't give a shit... He just wanted the energy orbs.

"You better get that boy in check, Rick." The Sultan glared as they approached each other. "I don't appreciate being hit, being disrespected. I'm the sultan of this land. I am the highest being on the planet. And this child had the nerve to first of all tell me no... and then hit me and run off? What I'm offering is more than fair, and should be considered an honor for him."

"I'm sorry..." Rick frowned, squeezing his hand hard around Morty's wrist and glaring down at him. "He's quick to panic... He won't do it again, right Morty?" Rick stared angrily at him, squeezing his arm even tighter in warning.

Tears streamed down Morty's cheeks as he shrunk down. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe that the Sultan attacked him in the first place, but it was so much more devastating now that Rick didn't even care. And not only did he not care - he was fully willing to deliver Morty right back to the guy, let him do it again.

"I don't want him fighting me." The Sultan warned.

Morty sniffed back tears and shook his head. "I don't wanna do this... I don't c-care about the fucking energy orbs... I don't want to-"

"Oh my god, Morty. This is the least you could fucking do. He's not gonna hurt you. Right?" Rick looked up at The Sultan.

"Of course I won't." The Sultan promised.

"See? There you go. You lost all my money, so you have to find a way to fucking pay for this." Rick stared.

"No..." Morty whimpered softly. If they were asking him here if he would cooperate and allow this, the answer was fucking no.

Rick exhaled loudly. "Give me a minute with him." He grumbled, leading Morty into an empty room, shoving the boy forward, and closing the door behind them.

As soon as they were in the room Morty pulled both of his arms close to himself, sunk down to the floor, and started to sob. He didn't know if Rick was really going to make him do this, if Rick was just putting on a show for the Sultan... A part of him wanted to believe Rick was going to pretend to leave him here, then come back at the last minute and save him, take the orbs for free, and go. But Morty wasn't sure that was the case, and he certainly didn't want to be raped.

Rick's plan was so unclear, and Morty legitimately did not trust the man enough to be sure what he might do, what he might allow. He honestly couldn't tell. He just knew he had never been more terrified in his life.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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"Morty, come on. Get off the damn floor." Rick spoke in a low, even tone.

Morty shook his head and continued crying, hiding his face with his hands as he remained curled up on the floor. He couldn't believe his grandfather would ask him to do this. He couldn't believe Rick saw how scared Morty was, how upsetting this was to him, and had absolutely no empathy for his own grandson.

Rick showed him over and over how much he didn't give a damn about him. Morty didn't understand why he couldn't get himself to just start expecting the level of cruelty Rick was always dishing out... He just wanted to believe the man cared somewhere deep down. He wanted to believe Rick had limits and boundaries he wouldn't cross, that he'd be there to support and protect Morty when it really mattered. But that clearly wasn't true.

If Rick was waiting for something big to finally prove he loved his grandson, this was it... Morty was willing to take everything else, be hit, kicked, burnt, yelled at, shoved... just as long as Rick wouldn't allow this one thing. Morty told his grandfather that this man just tried to sexually assault him, that he was scared and needed his grandfather to help him, save him, take him home. And Rick's reaction seemed to prove the opposite of what Morty had hoped. Maybe Rick really did just not love him or care about him. Not even a little.

He had no boundaries. No limits. The magical moment when Morty was going to face a great danger and Rick's love would finally be proven didn't exist. Rick was going to let anything and everything happen to his grandson as long as it benefited him. There wasn't going to be a danger or trauma too great for Rick to allow his grandson to suffer through it. As long as Rick got what he wanted, the rest didn't matter.

"Morty get up. Look at me. Now." Rick growled. "You're wearing down my patience, you little fucker."

Reluctantly, Morty pulled himself out of his defensive position and moved his hands down away from his face, blinking back tears as he stared back at Rick. He felt so betrayed, but scared Rick was going to hit or kick him if he didn't start doing what the man said.

"Get up." Rick said again.

Morty did as he was told, pulling himself up on shaking legs and biting his lower lip as he cowered down. "C-can't you just steal them?" Morty whispered. "Steal them and go, and j-just not pay them anything? J-just take them... W-we steal things all the time..." He remembered.

"Not from these people. They know how to travel through space and between dimensions too, Morty. I know they look dumb as hell, but they aren't. They've got technology I haven't even fuckin' figured out yet. We have to pay them if we don't want to make their shit list, and the payment they want is you. It's actually a really fuckin' sweet deal considering how much those energy orbs are worth and considering how useless you are. I can't even believe he'd consider jerking off your little dick any sort of prize... But if that's what he wants, I say we give it to him. It's only four days. He probably won't really hurt you too bad." Rick shrugged.

Morty shook his head. "Yes he will, Rick. I don't want to let him touch me, or do anything like that. These people are really tall, really big... He will hurt me, Rick... And even if he didn't... I don't wanna let him touch me like that... I don't want to, Rick... I'm scared... It's sexual stuff... He's a giant alien, and I never did that kind of thing with anyone. Ever... I don't want to... J-just take me home. You lived this long without the energy orbs. You don't need them that bad."

"Morty..." Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It's not a big deal. Sex matters to you because your culture conditioned you to care, but it's no different than working or going to school, or to the dentist or doctor or anything else you fuckin' hate and do anyway... Except sex can actually feel fuckin' great if you do it right. Just relax and let him start goin' at it. Tell him you're willing to do whatever under the condition that he slows down or stops and tries something else if it hurts. You'll find something you like if you try enough."

Morty felt his eyes had grown wide as he stared with his mouth hanging part-way open. Was Rick seriously giving him sex tips? Was the man honestly advising Morty to just try to enjoy being molested?

"I think he's more of like just a pervert than like a violent rapist. He'll probably mostly just rub around on you. Maybe stick a finger or two up your ass. It'll be exactly like going to the doctor, just it'll last longer and you get to sleep in a fuckin' nice bed and eat good food. This guy's a fuckin' Sultan. You'll live like a literal king besides a little bit of discomfort - which you seriously might like if you let yourself. It's not gonna be like a six hour long violent anal rape with nipple clamps and ball gags. God, Morty. Don't be a brat and just let him do this little petty stuff so I can get my orbs. They're worth so fucking much money. Do it for me, Morty." Rick forced a smile. "Do it for grandpa, huh?"

Morty frowned as he stared up at Rick. "I'm not letting this guy rape me so you can have your stupid orbs, Rick."

Rick's smile fell immediately. "It doesn't have to be rape if you just chill the fuck out, lie back, and let him do whatever. God damn. Living on Earth makes people into such fucking prudes. Just get over yourself. It's not a big deal."

Morty shook his head again. "It is rape, Rick, and it is a big deal. I said no... And I'm still a kid..." He added in a whisper, honestly still shocked that he had to explain this to his grandfather. "I'm fourteen, Rick. I'm not supposed to be having this stuff done to me... E-especially if I don't want to."

"Morty..." Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not really asking you as much as I'm suggesting that you don't be fuckin' difficult about it. You think I'm going to ask your fucking permission on this? The Sultan wants to give me four insanely valuable energy orbs and all he wants is to stick his thumb up your ass and suck off your little twig dick, and you think I'm gonna fuckin' ask you if you're okay with it? It's not a question of whether or not you're doing it. You are. What I'm asking is this: Are you going to play nice and make this easy, or are you going to be a little fucking brat and make me beat the fucking shit out of you first?"

Morty inhaled a small breath as he stared at Rick with wide eyes. He felt more nervous than maybe he ever had in his life, but he knew he couldn't give in. He didn't want to do this. He couldn't just allow it. Rick didn't seem to have limits, but Morty did. He put up with a lot, but he wasn't going to just close his eyes, shrink down, and allow this to happen to him. Maybe Rick would take him home and beat him worse than he ever had in Morty's life, but Morty couldn't go along with this. He just couldn't.

"Rick, no..." Morty whispered. "I'm... Rick, I'm f-fourteen years old... Th-this guy is a grownup... I mean, h-he's an alien, but I'm pretty sure he's an adult... And I d-don't wanna do this... I don't consent..." Morty shook his head. "If you try to make me anyway, th-that's rape, Rick..." Morty whispered in a tiny voice, feeling his heart pound in his chest as he put all of this into words. "Y-you can't make me..."

Rick stared silently at Morty for a few seconds. For a moment, Morty wondered if pleading his case had worked. Maybe Rick just thought before what the Sultan was trying to do wasn't a big deal because it wouldn't have been a big deal to him, but now realized that to Morty, it was. It was rape, because Morty didn't want to do it. He wasn't okay with it. Maybe he was going to take Morty's feelings into consideration for once. Maybe now he realized that what the Sultan did was horrible, scary, humiliating... That Morty was too young to agree to this even if he wanted to. Maybe he was going to defend Morty now, be supportive, take him home.

Morty yelped a pained, surprised cry when Rick suddenly balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down across his grandson's face. Morty fell back against the floor, bringing his hand up to his cheek and whimpering as he crawled backwards away from his grandfather.

"I can't believe you lost all my fucking money, Morty!" Rick growled, closing in on his grandson, pulling Morty's arm back so that he couldn't shield his face, and then hitting him again.

"Rick, stop!" Morty sobbed, curling himself into a ball.

Rick let out a growling noise as he reached for Morty's arms, pinning them both together against the floor with one of his hands and balling his other hand into a fist. He punched down against Morty's stomach, causing the boy to cough a pained breath and squeeze his eyes shut.

"Rick, please! I didn't mean to! A m-monster attacked me!" Morty whimpered. "The monster grabbed the b-backpack from me. I couldn't hold onto it! Please! I c-can help you get more money... I'll g-get a job, or recycle stuff..."

Rick still was only making angry, growling noises rather than saying anything back as he hit Morty again, then dragged him up to his feet, spun him around, and pushed him face-first against the wall, twisting Morty's arm painfully back behind him and leaning down to whisper in the boy's ear.

"You're staying here. Four days like The Sultan wants." Rick growled. "You're not gonna fucking fight him. You're not gonna cry that it's rape or that you're fucking scared. You're gonna just do what he says and be fuckin' respectful. He's a god damned sultan, Morty. He's fuckin' important to these dipshits. If you be good and do what he wants, after four days I'll come back and get you. If not, he'll probably kill you. If he doesn't, I will. You're not worth shit if you won't even pull your own weight and can't even own up to your own bullshit. You fucked up. You lost the money. This is your fucking fault. If you don't want to let a fat, rich, alien pervert fuck you to pay off a debt you owe, don't do stupid shit that warrants a debt being incurred, you dumb-ass."

Morty cried pained sobs as Rick held him firmly in place, twisting the boy's arm painfully behind him, further and further, more and more roughly with each passing second.

"Are you gonna cooperate?" Rick whispered in a low, threatening voice.

Morty couldn't bring himself to speak. His breaths were painful since Rick had hit him against his ribs several times. He was completely terrified, in pain... He didn't want to do this. Being left for four days with this huge, powerful, threatening man who just tried to hurt him was the most terrifying thing he could imagine.

Rick twisted his arm sharply behind him. "Are you gonna fucking cooperate, Morty?" He asked again.

Morty whimpered a pained, shaking cry. "Y-you're hurting me, Rick! Stop! Please!"

"I don't give a fuck. I'm gonna hurt you a lot worse if you fuck this up for me." Rick grumbled. "You're gonna go out there, be respectful, let that fuckin' freak do whatever he wants to you."

Morty choked out shaking sobs, shrinking down against the wall and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Tell me you're gonna cooperate, Morty. I gotta know if I need to beat the shit out of you." Rick demanded.

"Y-you already are..." Morty whispered, then screamed a pained cry when Rick twisted his arm back even further, producing a sickening popping sound as his shoulder was pulled out of its socket. "Rick stop!" Morty begged. "Stop!" His voice shook and his breaths felt strained as pain shot through his shoulder, down his arm, across the upper part of his chest.

"Tell me you're gonna do what he says, Morty, or I'll dislocate the other one too." Rick growled, still twisting Morty's arm painfully.

Morty's breaths were sort, shaky, pained... "O-okay..." Morty stammered, whimpering shakily. "I'll d-do w-what he says..." He choked back a frightened sob. He had no choice here. Rick was going to make him stay either way. Morty could either go with it, or fight back and get really, really hurt and end up having to do all of it anyway.

"Good. I'll go work out the details. You stay fucking here." Rick growled, finally losing his grip and stepping back.

Morty let himself slide down the wall, hugging his arm protectively against his chest and resting his forehead against the wall. He heard Rick pace across the room, open the door, and then close it behind him.

It only took a matter of seconds before the door opened back up, and a guard stepped in, probably to make sure Morty didn't try to escape.

"P-please don't let him do this..." Morty whispered, staring the guard in the eyes. There had to be people on this planet who wouldn't agree with all of this. "I don't want to do this... Please don't let him... W-where I'm from y-you have to be an adult to do stuff l-like this, a-and you have to consent... I don't consent..."

The guard narrowed his eyes, but stepped closer. Morty shrunk down, unsure what the guard was thinking.

"H-help me get home... Rick wants the energy orbs. I don't even want them... M-make him find a way to pay for them. H-he can't s-sell me... He doesn't own me..." Morty explained.

"Seems like he does." The guard shrugged, kneeling down in front of Morty. "Don't panic. Hold still."

"Wh-" Morty started, then inhaled a sharp breath and flinched as the man reached down toward the waist of Morty's jeans. "No!" He gasped, grabbing at the garment himself and crawling backward as much as he could. Was everyone on this planet a fucking rapist?

"The Sultan likes his guests disrobed." The guard noted without much emotion in his face or voice. "You may keep your undergarment on for the time being, but he may ask for you to be bathed first. Especially with all these tears, and you've been on the floor, in the forest... For now we'll just undress you."

"No..." Morty whimpered, shrinking back against the wall. "Please... You can't... Please let me go. You can't do this..." He shook his head. "I w- I want t-to go home!"

The guard exhaled an annoyed breath and reached toward Morty again.

"No!" The boy gasped through shaking, tearful breaths, slapping his hand away. "Don't touch me!" His voice shook and his breaths were so quick it was making him lightheaded.

"Stop fighting with me, or you're going to end up hurt." The guard glared. "That's the last thing any of us want to have happen."

Morty felt his lower lip tremble as tears blurred his vision. He brought his fingers up toward his mouth, nervously chewing on his nails as he shrunk away as far as possible.

"Hold still. If you fight me again, you'll get hurt. It's not what I want to do..." The guard ordered again, grabbing Morty's arm in one hand and gripping one side of his pants in the other, yanking at them so hard it pulled Morty down onto the floor in the same instant.

"Ow! Please don't!" Morty sobbed, scared to reach down and physically try to stop the man. The guard, like the rest of the aliens on this planet, was really big. He could hurt Morty if he wanted to, and he just threatened to.

"Calm down." The guard spoke in a low voice that was almost threatening. "I'm not going to hurt you as long as you don't fight this. I'm only disrobing you, and not even fully. I won't hurt you. Relax."

Morty brought his hands up to cover his face as he lay on his back on the floor, physically shaking when he felt the guard's hands pull his pants down his thighs. His underwear came down part-way with it, so Morty whimpered fearfully and reached down to tug them back up.

"You're going to be alright." The guard noted, gently petting his hand across Morty's shoulder and chest once his pants and shoes were discarded. He pulled Morty up into a sitting position and squatted down in front of him. "He won't really hurt you. He's gentle as long as you cooperate."

Morty shook his head as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"My name's Thexd. You can trust me. I'll walk you through all of this, make sure you stay uninjured, taken care of. I'm not a bad person. I'm on your side, child. You and I may have more in common than you think. You don't need to fear me. I was a guest of The Sultan when I was young too, so I know exactly what to expect. I've been where you are now." The guard noted.

This caught Morty's attention. So The Sultan did this a lot... and this guy, an adult now, had been in the same position once. Morty wondered if how many kids The Sultan had abused here. He wondered if everyone on the whole planet just let them... considered it normal, like Rick implied. Earth was the place everyone made it into a big deal. It was fine to force kids into sexual situations on this planet.

He breathed in a small breath and stared up at the guard with wide eyes. "Y-you were?"

"Yes. My parents owed him a debt. They gave him me. It wasn't bad. He treated me very well. I ate better than I did at home, slept in a comfortable bed. The castle is kept warmer than my hut was." The guard explained. "I ended up wanting to stay after. I was The Sultan's favorite for a few years... Then he gradually lost interest and I became a servant in the castle - a cleaner, then a cook... now a guard. I'm still treated well."

"B-but I don't want..." Morty stammered. "Th-this is really wrong where I'm from... I'm scared... I d-don't want him to do things to me... I don't want to have to be naked... I don't want to live here."

"It doesn't hurt." Thexd repeated. "It's like this." He leaned down, putting his hand on Morty's inner-thigh and rubbing up toward his groin.

Morty's eyes widened and he immediately reached down toward the man's hand. "Don't!" He whimpered.

"Shhh..." The guard whispered. "I'll show you what kinds of things he does. You don't have to be scared. Forget what's normal on your planet and just be open to it. It doesn't hurt." He said again, running his hand up over Morty's underwear, then starting to force his fingers down under the material.

"No!" Morty screamed, balling his hand into a fist and slamming it up across the man's face, shoving and kicking with his other arm and legs, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder. "Stop!"

Thexd let out a small growling noise as he forced Morty down onto the floor and pinned him there with strong, bruising hands around his arms. "I'm trying to help you, to show you what to expect." He grumbled, forcing Morty's arms together above his head and holding them down with one of his hands around both of Morty's small wrists. "If you don't fight, The Sultan is gentle. If you do, he's not. And neither will I be."

Morty shook his head and sobbed pained, frightened tears. "Get off of me!" He begged. "Y-you're hurting me! Please!" He cried. His shoulder throbbed horribly, and he was absolutely terrified by what this man was threatening to do to him.

"This is all he'll do most of the time." Thexd said again, pushing his hand down the front of Morty's underwear, grabbing, squeezing, rubbing.

"No! Please!" Morty sobbed, tugging frantically at his trapped arms. "Stop!"

"Relax." Thexd whispered, rubbing his hand down between Morty's legs. "It feels good. Just relax. Calm down, breathe, close your eyes... Just feel... You'll enjoy it. It's nice. It's gentle."

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and cried a heartbroken sob as pulling at his trapped arms did nothing but cause his shoulder horrible pain. He couldn't help but to break down completely. He felt so betrayed. Rick knew something like this would happen, and he didn't care. This was painful, humiliating, terrifying, and Rick didn't care that it was happening to him.

"Don't cry, little one." Thexd breathed, groping and squeezing painfully down below. There was no fucking way he thought this felt good for Morty. It hurt. It was embarrassing and it hurt.

Morty shook his head, whimpering softly. How could Rick allow this to happen? He knew the man didn't really seem to like him all that much, but this was so fucking cruel. This was absolutely the worst thing Rick had ever allowed or enabled. Emotionally, it hurt so much more than any time Rick punched or kicked him, or even when he flat out told Morty he didn't love him. He knew Morty was scared of this... He knew how fucking terrified his grandson was... but he didn't care.

"Shhhh... You're okay..." Morty's attacker breathed, squeezing and rubbing painfully between the boy's legs. "Here... Do the same to me..." He panted, letting go of one of Morty's wrists so he could drag his other hand down.

Now that one of Morty's arms was free, his eyes shot open and he breathed out a shaky breath. "Get the fuck off of me!" Morty screamed a frantic scream, balling his free hand into a fist and punching out against the man's face as hard as he could.

Thexd let out an angry growl, but moved his hand up away from Morty's underwear, grabbing toward the boy's arm.

"No!" Morty screamed, yanking his arm quickly away and bringing his knee up between the man's legs. "Get off of me! Get off!" He sobbed, punching out toward the man's jaw again and shoving him back. Morty rolled onto his stomach and stumbled frantically to his feet, tripping and crying in pain and fear as he scrambled away.

Before he could even think out a plan of any kind, Morty spotted a window and rushed toward it, climbing out and letting himself fall down onto a ledge below. He choked out a pained breath, but pulled himself up and continued. He had to fucking get out of here.

As carefully as he could, but also as quickly as possible, Morty climbed down the side of the castle, using various ledges and roofs to slowly make his way down to the ground.

He knew he was going to be pursued. They weren't just going to let him go... He didn't know where he planned on going either. He was stuck on this planet and it seemed it was common-practice around here for people to sell their kids to the Sultan to pay off debts, to allow the man to sexually abuse them... to not even care that it was happening.

Breathing shaking, frantic sobs, Morty took off into the forest. It was night-time now. Everything was so dark... Maybe a monster would kill him. He didn't even care at this point. He just wanted out of here.

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	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

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Morty couldn't stop sobbing as he ran. His heart pounded so loudly it and his shaking, pained breaths were the only things he could hear. He wasn't sure if he was being followed - by guards, monster-lizards, or whatever other terrors lingered in this dark, dangerous forest. He only knew that he was running, as fast as he could, as far away from the castle as possible.

He kept running even as his vision started to look dark around the edges - darker than the rest of the night, which was already pretty dark. He could barely see where he was going in the first place. The only light was from the occasional glowing lava oozing out of various spots in the ground. Though he had to be careful not to run through it and burn himself, Morty was glad now that the lava was there - so he could at least see a little, tiny bit.

Tree branches, shrubs, and bushes scraped against his skin as he stumbled desperately forward. He was only wearing socks and underwear, leaving so much of his skin exposed to the rough terrain. The plants seemed extra pointy. The foliage seemed extra thick. He felt pain everywhere.

As he continued on, his legs, lungs, and entire body felt more and more exhausted. His vision darkened. He felt like he was going to faint... But he couldn't bring himself to stop - not until he found somewhere that felt somewhat safe - a cave, a cottage where maybe someone would help him...

Morty let out a startled scream when he felt someone grab onto his arm, tugging him roughly backward. "No! Help me!" Morty shouted as he stumbled back against something solid, maybe someone's or something's body. "Please! Let go!" He sobbed as he thrashed wildly in the unknown person or creature's grasp.

"You are property of The Sultan." A voice growled as Morty was shoved down onto the forest floor. He felt a metal cuff snap around one of his wrists. Then the guard grabbed toward Morty's other arm.

"No!" Morty tugged his arm back out of reach and struggled to stand. "Please! I don't want to go back!" He sobbed, noticing the guard who had followed him was the same one who had cornered him in the room just minutes before, Thexd. The one he hit and ran from... Who was probably compltely fucking pissed off about it. A second guard was with him now.

"Hold still." Thexd growled, grabbing Morty's wrist and snapping the second cuff in place, securing both of his hands close together in front of him, then shoving Morty down to his knees.

"J-just tell him you couldn't find me! Please!" Morty sobbed, shivering as Thexd held him down by his shoulders. His arm throbbed where Rick had dislocated it.

"I can't do that. I was in charge of watching you. I can't come back empty-handed." Thexd frowned.

Morty choked out a tiny sob and squeezed his eyes shut. "A-at least let us talk it over first... P-please... T-take me back to Rick, a-and we'll all talk about it... C-come up with something else... Please!"

Thexd shook his head. "Rick already left. He's coming back in four days. You need to start up-keeping your side of this." He knelt down, putting his hand on the side of Morty's face. "I know you're scared..." The guard stared, licking his lips slightly as he ran his thumb over Morty's lower lip.

Morty breathed a soft gasp and turned his head to the side. He could still barely breathe. His lungs felt so over-worked. His vision was still cloudy.

"I'll help you... I'll show you what he likes, so you'll be good at it." The guard offered with a smirk.

Morty shook his head. "No... I don't want to be good at it... L-let me go..." He whimpered.

"Hold onto his arms, Flig." Thexd requested of the other guard. He sounded kind of mad. Probably because Morty hit him before.

Morty's eyes widened as the second guard, Flig approached, walking behind him and holding onto Morty's arms as Thexd stood menacingly in front of him. Morty's mouth dropped open as he stared up at Thexd.

"I'm sorry..." Morty breathed, feeling is body trembling as he looked up at Thexd. Flig's grip was pretty hard on his arms. He was completely outmatched this time. His wrists were secured, there were two guards, and he felt very, very close to fainting. "I- I'm sorry I hit you... I j-just... I was just scared... Please don't hurt me... Please... Please..." Morty whimpered, shaking his head as he stared breathlessly up at his attacker.

"You're going to want to try to breathe through your nose." Thexd suggested as he reached down toward the front of his own pants and started tugging them down.

Morty shook his head and tried to stand, but Flig held him down too hard. "No! Please!" Morty sobbed, ducking down when he couldn't get up, and crawling off to the side until hands were back on him dragging him onto his knees again. "Let me go! No!" Morty screamed. "Somebody help!"

"No one's going to help you, child." Thexd glared, pulling his penis out of the front of his pants and holding it in his hand. "I don't want to wear you out before The Sultan gets his time with you, so we'll put those soft little lips and that warm, wet little tongue to work. Open your mouth. Just try to breathe, calm down..."

"No!" Morty whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head to the side. He brought his bound hands up to his face, trying to shield himself. His breaths were so quick and frantic. He was feeling more and more like he might pass out.

"You're going to put my penis in your mouth and suck..." Thexd growled. "Or... I'll pin you to the ground, and do it the other way. You can make this easy, painless... or you can make me more angry than I already am... I won't try to prepare you first. I won't use anything to make it go in easier... I'll just ram it in... And you're so, so small... That'll really hurt."

Morty felt himself shaking horribly as Flig was pretty much holding him up by his arms at this point. He was so scared. He was pretty sure he'd have fallen down to the forest floor by now if the second guard weren't securely gripping his arms.

"So open up your little mouth. Don't bite... Breathe through your nose." Thexd smirked, holding his penis in one hand and grabbing Morty's face in the other. "It'll all be easier with The Sultan if you just play nice now. Get used to it out here, and in there it'll be easy for you. You can handle this. Open your mouth."

Morty couldn't even bring himself to speak at this point. He wanted to. He wanted to continue begging and pleading, trying to offer absolutely anything to these men to get them to leave him alone... but he couldn't. He could only sob loud, breathless, shaking sobs. He didn't even recognize the sound. He hadn't even cried this hard when his family died, or the first time Rick hit him hard enough to leave very noticeable marks. Morty had never, ever in his life felt this betrayed, this alone, this helpless and doomed.

"Open up. This is the last time I'm asking. You've got three seconds before I slam you face-first against one of these trees, rip those little underwear down..." He trailed off, laughing and shrugging as he held Morty's chin in his hand, forcing the boy to look up at him through his shaking tears. "I mean... you see how big this is, right?" Thexd laughed, nodding down toward his penis, which Morty refused to look at. "Won't hurt going down your throat... It will the other way. You made me chase you without warning. I don't have any oils with me to make it go in easier. It'll really tear you up down there... So just let's do this the easy way, huh?"

Shaking his head, Morty squeezed his eyes shut and shrunk down as much as possible. He just couldn't bring himself to allow this. He knew it would hurt worse the other way, but some part of his mind still hoped crying, fighting, making this difficult and hoping for the best, maybe escaping long enough to run again would save him from all of it. He just couldn't open up his mouth and let this guy force his penis down his throat. He just couldn't.

"Fine." Thexd growled reaching down and grabbing toward Morty's arm with a hard hand.

Morty choked a pained, terrified cry, flinching when suddenly a bright light illuminated the forest around him. He opened his eyes and looked around breathlessly, shrinking down as he blinked in confusion. What was happening? What was the light? What did it mean?

"What the hell is that?" Flig wondered as well. "Th-" The man was suddenly cut off when it seemed like a bullet shot straight through his throat. He let go of Morty and fell forward, clutching his throat and choking strangled, gurgling sounds, like he was suffocating on his own blood.

"Oh my god!" Morty whimpered, letting himself fall down to his hands and knees. He was glad Flig let go of him, but he didn't know what was happening. Who shot him, and why? Were they going to kill Morty too?

He felt Thexd grab onto him, pulling him roughly up off the ground and hugging him close against his chest. "Who is that? Is this your doing?" Thexd growled nervously, backing away from wherever he perceived the light to be coming from.

"I d- I don't know!" Morty gasped, feeling complete panic rising in his chest. The light was so bright, but he almost swore he saw some sort of space ship behind it. He was glad whatever this was had stopped Thexd, for now at least... but he didn't know what was happening - if whoever was behind the light would hurt him even worse, maybe even kill him.

"Is it Rick? Is he double-crossing us?" Thexd accused. "He lied... He gave you to us, took the orbs, and is trying to steal you back..." Thexd squeezed his hand tight around Morty's arm. "You don't belong to him anymore." Thexd growled. "Not for four days."

"I-it's not him..." Morty winced. He wished it were, but it wasn't. Rick didn't give a shit about him. The old man had made that painfully clear. The space ship was also too big. Rick's just held two people. It was like a car that flew. This one was huge. It looked big enough to be considered a small house.

Morty whimpered and let himself fall to the ground when Thexd suddenly let go of him and fell forward, landing heavily on top of him.

"Wh-" Thedx choked, coughing up blood as Morty used both of his hands to attempt to push the man's heavy body off of him.

"G-get off of me!" Morty sobbed. He had to get out from under this guy, but he was so heavy. Morty had to run. He had to get away from the space ship before they caught him and killed him too.

Morty growled a frustrated whimper as he continued trying to shove Thexd off of him once the man stopped moving. He was so fucking heavy.

The space ship landed in front of him. The bright lights it had shined down were still illuminating the forest, so much that Morty could barely even see. It was so bright. But he did see the shadow of someone emerging from the ship. Three someones.

"Please don't!" Morty sobbed. He was so overwhelmed. So fucking much was going on. He was hurt, exhausted, terrified. Two different people just tried to molest him, his grandfather pretty much sold him to these people... And now this - strange aliens not afraid to shoot and kill people, walking up to him, probably to either kill him quickly or torture him and kill him slowly. It was way too much for him to handle.

Morty shoved at the body of his attacker again. He was so heavy, and Morty was so tired. "Get off!" He sobbed, glancing to the side at the blurry silhouettes in front of the blinding light. "Don't! Get away from me! Leave me alone!" He pleaded, shoving with a renewed sense of urgency. His hurt shoulder throbbed as he shoved uselessly at Thexd's body.

"Please!" Morty whimpered, closing his eyes and shrinking down. There didn't seem to be any safe place left in the whole universe. He was in a forest full of monsters, near a castle full of sexual predators, being approached by unknown beings who just killed two people. Where the fuck could he possibly go at this point?

Crying soft, shaking breaths as his vision clouded even further and his lungs felt just about ready to shut down from overuse, Morty felt his body failing to keep fighting. He felt so close to losing consciousness. Morty looked back up at the three approaching figures, gasping a small noise as his breath caught in his throat.

It was Rick... It was three Ricks, who each looked slightly different than the last. One looked identical to his own Rick. Maybe it was him. The other was larger, and the other seemed taller, and had a scar on his face.

"No!" Morty screamed, a renewed sense of urgency overtaking him as he shoved frantically at Thexd's body. "G-get away from me!" Rick would take him back too. Morty couldn't understand why Rick had two almost-copies of himself with him now, but he did know that the man pretty much just knowingly sold Morty into sexual slavery after beating him up, dislocating his shoulder... Morty didn't feel any comfort in seeing Rick - much less three of him.

"Jesus Christ, kid..." Rick frowned as he approached, grabbing toward Morty's injured arm and trying to pull him up. "What happened to y-"

Morty cut him off with a shrill, pained scream, pulling his hurt arm back protectively against his chest. "Don't touch me!" He begged, his voice trembling with tears.

"Woah... Calm down... Take it easy, Morty... We're here to help you." Rick spoke, reaching for Morty again.

"No! Get the fuck away from me!" Morty yelled, feeling himself hyperventilating, seeing his vision clouding over even further. He was going to faint. He felt a numbness in his chest and head. He was going to pass out. "P-please..." He whimpered between low, shaking breaths.

Before he had a chance to plead his case, to beg, to try to escape, his vision went completely black and he felt himself falling forward. He felt hands on his arm and chest, catching him before he hit the ground, then everything stopped and he knew no more.

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	6. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

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"Poor fuckin' kid." Rick breathed as he reached down and shoved the body of the alien who had been attacking Morty off to the side so he could see the boy more fully. He looked so beaten up, and had clearly just gotten himself so worked up, hyperventilating and sobbing, panicked to the point of fainting.

"Is he alright?" One of Rick's companions asked. They called him 'Fat-Rick,' which would have been offensive to anyone illogical enough to feel offended by it. The man was a fat version of Rick. It made sense. It wasn't an insult as much as an accurate adjective.

Rick's second companion was called 'Scar-Cheek Rick' because he had a scar on his cheek. Rick even had a name he went by when among his colleagues - 'Regular-Rick 2,' since he happened to look like a very regular-Rick... and since their group used to include another Rick who looked just like him who they called 'Regular-Rick.' They were a very straight-forward bunch...

"I think he just passed out purely out of panic. I don't think he's in danger of dying. He's clearly been through something pretty fucked up though..." Rick frowned. That much was obvious. The boy was very scuffed up and bruised. He was covered in bandages with blood seeping through some of them. Others were half-fallen off. It looked like vicious claw-marks under the bandages. He was also only wearing underwear and socks and his hands were secured in front of him by iron cuffs snapped around his wrists. It had been a while since they found a Morty in such a rough condition.

"Those look like skribeet claw marks." Fat-Rick noted with a nod. "They're more active at night, so we might want to get a move on." He added, looking somewhat nervously around the dark forest. Fat-Rick's role among their group was to research the different dimensions and planets they traveled to, so he often knew more about the various dangers they might encounter than the other two did.

"Let's get him on the ship and get the fuck outta here before someone comes looking for him." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. "You and Fat-Rick can make sure he doesn't die and I'll start charting our way back to the Morty Safe Haven. Might take a minute though. Getting here was a bitch."

"What about his Rick?" Fat-Rick wondered. "He's not dead... So what if he wants him back?"

Scar-Cheek Rick scoffed. "Too fuckin' bad. Look at the fucking kid. His Rick doesn't deserve him back."

"To be fair, we don't know what happened to his Rick. He could be injured or imprisoned or otherwise lost..." Regular-Rick 2 noted.

"We'll ask the kid when he wakes up. Until then, let's fucking go. I don't want to be eaten by a god damned skribeet." Scar-Cheek Rick glared.

Regular-Rick 2 nodded. That sounded like a plan. He carefully picked the boy up in his arms and followed his companions back up the ramp and into their ship.

"This one might be a challenge when he wakes up." Regular-Rick 2 guessed as he carried Morty down the hall of the ship and toward one of the Morty bedrooms. The three rooms they used to house Mortys they rescued were all vacant at the moment, which was probably good since this one seemed so terrified and scuffed up. He was probably going to require a bit more care than a lot of the others Rick and his crew had found, so it was ideal that they could devote all their focus to him for the time being.

Of course, most Mortys they rescued were scared or traumatized on some level. That's why they needed to be rescued. Regular-Rick 2, Fat-Rick, and Scar-Cheek Rick traveled through the multi-verse looking for Mortys who had been abandoned, lost, or who were being somehow significantly abused, picked them up, and took them to the Morty Safe Haven until a semi-responsible Rick who had lost his Morty adopted them.

Regular-Rick 2 had invented a device that detected extreme Morty-stress and followed it to find most of their Mortys, but also found some by using a separate device that detected which Ricks had died. A lot of Mortys died along with their Ricks, but some managed to escape and were left lost and alone on alien planets. The poor kids also tended to be danger-magnets and often ended up in all sorts of precarious situations. They had saved so many from near-death, taking them out of almost any horrible situation imaginable. They found one in a medical research lab being used as a test subject. Another was being forced to work on a farm without any sort of pay and slept in a cold barn with the animals every night. Quite a few lived in caves or abandoned shacks, just hiding from anyone and everyone on whatever alien planet they happened to have been left on. 

This Morty seemed to be alone, but his Rick wasn't dead. Regular-Rick 2 had found him by looking for stressed Mortys, and a strong response came from this forest. He could see now very large hints as to why this Morty would have levels of stress so high they were off the charts. Rick couldn't be sure every detail of what his boy had just been through, but it had clearly been rough. 

He couldn't be certain at this point if the boy's original Rick was at fault for any of this or not. Clearly the two aliens grabbing him in the woods were responsible for the last of it, but why wasn't his Rick there to stop it? Had he been taken prisoner? Was he injured somewhere? Lost in the woods? Or did he allow these people access to his grandson for some reason? They'd have to look into it, as they weren't in the business of stealing Mortys from other Ricks without good reason.

"I'll go look for some clothes for him." Fat-Rick offered as Regular-Rick 2 laid the boy carefully onto the bed.

Rick frowned as he looked down at Morty, wondering where to even fucking start. His shoulder looked like it was dislocated, he had the lazily-bandaged claw marks on his chest, arm, and upper back, bruises everywhere, scrapes and scratches everywhere. He had dried blood under his nose. The poor kid looked like he'd been through a fucking blender.

Exhaling, Rick chose to start with the shoulder. Everything else would heal on its own in time, and just needed to be cleaned and bandaged. The shoulder needed medical attention pretty soon, or it would never heal right.

Carefully, Rick reached for Morty's arm, gripping it tight and breathing out a low breath. He didn't want to cause Morty any more pain, but he had to fix his arm. He had no other choice. So as quickly and precisely as possible, Rick shoved the arm back up toward its socket, snapping it back in place.

The pain from this action seemed to have woken Morty up, because as soon as the shoulder joint was back how it should have been, Morty started screaming, blinking wide, fearful eyes open and crawling desperately backward on the bed.

"Get away from me!" He whimpered in a shaking, frantic voice. "Don't touch me! Get off of me!" He screamed, his voice trembling with frantic tears.

Rick raised his hands defensively. "Morty... Morty, don't panic. I'm Rick T-45R... Or Regular-Rick 2 around here... I'm from a dimension a lot like yours... My colleagues and I just picked you up. You're on our star ship. It's totally safe. You're okay..."

Morty shook his head and shrunk back, choking out a tiny, shaky sob. His eyes were wide as he stared mostly at Rick, but also around the room, cowering down like he thought Rick was going to beat the shit out of him.

"Morty, I'm not gonna hurt you. You're okay. You're gonna be alright." Rick continued. "We're good Ricks... I mean, if such a thing exists, right?" He laughed. Morty didn't join him in laughing. Rick frowned. "We're gonna either get you back with your Rick or take you someplace better... depending on what the hell happened."

Tears filled Morty's eyes as the boy continued shrinking down, staring silently up at Rick. His lower lip trembled and his chest shook with quick, shallow breaths. The boy didn't look like he was really comprehending anything Rick was saying, but Rick chose to go on anyway.

"You're safe here. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you. I'm trying to help you... My colleagues and I are going to get you all fixed up and take you somewhere safe." Rick explained. "What happened to your Rick? Why wasn't he with you?"

Morty's breaths were still quick and shaky. He still stared at Rick like the man was a monster, but he seemed to be calming down if only just a little.

"You're okay, Morty... Your shoulder was dislocated... I fixed it. Does it feel alright? I mean, probably better than it did at least..." Rick reached out toward his arm. "Try to-"

"No!" Morty cut him off, slapping Rick's hand away and shrinking back until he fell over the side of the bed with a shaking cry. Morty proceeded to crawl back into the corner of the room, looking desperately past Rick's shoulder toward the door. "I'm sorry! Don't touch me!" Morty sobbed. "Let me go! Please! I w-wanna go home..."

Rick stared back, trying to keep himself from getting frustrated. This wasn't the first feral Morty he'd dealt with and wouldn't be the last. As annoying as it was to repeatedly explain to Morty after Morty that they were going to be alright, he needed to remain patient. It wasn't Morty's fault he was scared and distrustful. It was painfully obvious by the fact that he was quite injured, chained up, and almost naked that he had just been in the middle of a very dangerous, terrifying situation. His Rick was nowhere to be found. He was in the woods with two large beings holding him down, looking very suspiciously like they were trying to force the kid to perform oral sex. Of course Morty was fucking terrified.

"Morty, it's just me... It's Rick... Maybe not the one you know, but close to the same." Rick shrugged.

Morty shrunk down against the wall, shaking his head and sobbing. "Please don't make me go back..." He whimpered. "Rick, please... I don't wanna go back... I don't care what they give you. W-we can find a different way. I'll do anything. Please don't make me go."

"I won't." Rick stared with a furrowed brow. Did this Morty's Rick give the kid to these people in exchange for something? Was that what Morty was talking about? Did his Rick basically sell him?

"I can't go back..." Morty cried softly, shaking and avoiding looking at Rick.

"You're not going back, Morty. We just saved you from those god damned creeps. We won't send you back. Not in a million fuckin' years, kid. I promise." Rick frowned.

"Please let me go... I don't want to be here. Let me go..." Morty sobbed, looking nervously around the room, possibly searching for an escape route.

Rick frowned. "Let you go where?" He wondered. They just plucked this kid up off a dangerous planet, from the middle of a monster-infested woods. Two alien men were holding him down on his knees - possibly trying to force him to suck their dicks if Rick interpreted the scene correctly. Where the fuck did the kid want to be released to?

Morty's breaths were quick and frantic, drawing attention to the purple bruises over his ribs as his chest rose and fell. The boy looked around the room nervously, like a frightened, caged animal searching for a way out. Rick could see now that he had been right. This kid wasn't going to be easy to manage. He was very panicked, frantic, desperate. Even confused. He didn't seem comforted by Rick's presence. Maybe his previous Rick wasn't a very comforting person...

"You don't seem to have anywhere to go, kid." Rick frowned. "You don't need to be scared though. I get it... You've been through something fucked up... But that's over. Whatever happened, whoever hurt you or scared you... They aren't here. You're with us now, and if there's such a thing as a good Rick, that'd be us. We won't hurt you. We'll take you somewhere safe."

Morty shook his head again. Tears shined in his eyes and he was visibly shaking.

"Nobody on this ship is going to hurt you, Morty. You can relax... Take a breath. Calm down. We're good guys. I know we're Ricks..." He laughed, fully aware of the fact that most Ricks were far from the poster-boys for safety or compassion. "But we're good. As good as Ricks can be... We help Mortys like you." Rick explained. "You're safe with us."

"Wh-" Morty stammered, his breaths still quick. "M-mortys like me? There's more of me? There's three of you... Is there three of me? A-are the other Ricks like you? Did they leave their Mortys? Did th-they sell them?" Morty let out a tiny, shaking breath and shrunk down. "W-why did you leave me there, Rick? Why did you leave me with them when you knew what they'd do?" Morty suddenly started sobbing, raising his hands up to his face and sliding his back down the wall so that he was curled up in the corner.

Rick grimaced. This was a Morty who didn't realize what the multiverse was, who didn't realize what his Rick transporting him all over different dimensions meant. His Rick apparently left him with the people who had hurt him and he thought Regular-Rick 2 was his Rick. No wonder he was scared of Rick.

"I'm not..." Rick started. Sometimes explaining this to a Morty was difficult. Sometimes they didn't believe it or understand it. "You travel to different dimensions with your Rick, right?" Rick asked.

"M-my Rick?" Morty whimpered, still breathing hard. "Y-you mean you?"

"No. I don't actually. Each dimension is another reality - as in, there's a Rick and a Morty, and a copy of everyone and everything else from your dimension in each other dimension. More or less... This and that varies. Sometimes you'd never know the difference between one dimension and the next. Sometimes the differences are so tiny you couldn't possibly know. Sometimes the differences are huge - like everyone on Earth having antenna, or a planet of the apes world, or the entire Earth having a population of entirely different beings because evolution took a wrong turn... or a right turn, depending on how you see it. I'm not your Rick. Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick aren't your Ricks. I haven't even met your Rick."

"B-but you're like... You l-look just like him... The other two with you look different. You look like my Rick. Y-you're the one who left me there... I t-told you what he did, and you didn't care. You left me there anyway." Morty frowned, his lip trembling as tears welled up in his eyes. "H-his guards are j-just as bad. You left me with them. You knew and you left me..."

"Wasn't me. I promise. I'm not sure what happened to you... But I'd never leave a Morty behind. Not unless he was safe. Lots of Ricks look just like me... But it wasn't me who left you here. I'm actually here to rescue you." Rick explained.

"Lots of Ricks.. A Morty..." Morty still looked completely confused. "You're telling me... There's more... Wh-what?"

"There are infinite realities. Infinite Ricks. Infinite Mortys. Me and my colleagues travel to the different dimensions in the multiverse and rescue Mortys whose Ricks are dead, gone, unfit to take care of them. You seemed like you needed help... So we found you and rescued you." Rick explained again.

"S-so you didn't leave me there?" Morty whispered.

Rick shook his head no.

"B-but you're just like my own Rick... b-but from a different dimension." Morty guessed.

"Well, more or less... But each Rick is different. Some are assholes, some are bigger assholes. A few are almost nice." Rick laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Describing any Rick as actually 'nice' seemed like a stretch. They were all pretty selfish and aloof in their own way.

"A-are you nice?" Morty whispered.

Rick shrugged. "Kind of, I guess. I rescue Mortys. No one makes me, so I guess that's nice... I try not to let the Mortys I work with get hurt. I help them when they do get hurt, and I guess none of this is required of me... I just want to do the right thing as far as Mortys go... I mean, I'm not perfect..."

Morty sniffed back unshed tears, but remained shrunk back fearfully in the corner.

"You want to tell me what the hell happened to you?" Rick frowned.

Morty shook his head. "No. Last time I told you, you didn't care. You made it worse..." He whispered.

Rick exhaled tiredly, rolling his eyes and groaning. Was this kid serious? "Morty, I'm not your Rick. We just fucking went over this. You never told me fucking anything."

Morty's eyes widened and he shrunk down even further, clearly feeling apprehensive about Rick showing any sign of annoyance or anger.

"Your Rick left you here with these people who hurt you?" Rick frowned. "He left you on purpose?"

Morty's lower lip trembled as tears welled up in his eyes. He nodded slightly.

"Okay..." Rick nodded. That explained a bit. Morty's Rick didn't just accidentally lose him. He didn't get taken prisoner, wasn't injured somewhere. He left Morty willingly, clearly breaking his trust and causing him quite a bit of anguish. It seemed like Morty had told him about something traumatic that happened with these people and the man left Morty with them anyway.

Rick did want more confirmation on what exactly happened, how much the boy's original Rick knew and allowed. Sometimes Mortys blew things out of proportion. Sometimes Ricks didn't mean to be as harsh as they appeared to their easily-frightened grandsons. It was possible Rick left Morty there for some reason and didn't actually know the aliens would hurt the kid and Morty just interpreted it wrong. Maybe Rick had to leave for some reason and Morty just didn't understand what was happening.

"Why did he leave?" Rick asked. "Something happened and you told him, then he left you anyway? Did he know these people were going to hurt you?"

Morty bit his lower lip and nodded again, letting out a tiny whimper and closing his eyes. "He knew..." He whispered. "I told him what happened, what was gonna happen... And he made me stay anyway..."

"What did you tell him?" Rick frowned. "What happened?"

Morty shook his head. "Th- I don't wanna say..." He whispered, looking down and biting his lower lip. "S-something bad. I told Rick, and he didn't care. I told him the people there were bad and that they'd hurt me... th-that one guy already tried... and he didn't care..."

Rick exhaled. It was vague, but he was inclined to believe this Morty wasn't just exaggerating. The kid's Rick probably knew these people were creeps and left him there, seemingly in exchange for something, as Morty referenced earlier. Rick pretty much traded his grandson's safety for whatever material object he wanted.

"Well, he's gone, Morty." Rick noted. "We won't send you back to him, okay? We're gonna find you a new Rick who won't do that kind of shit. We only give our Mortys to semi-responsible Ricks."

"Semi-responsible?" Morty frowned, breathing in a tiny, shaking breath. "Y-you give us to them? What do you mean, 'give us' to them?" He frowned, looking legitimately offended.

"Well, they adopt you. Your new Rick won't be like your old one." Rick explained.

Morty shook his head. "I don't want to be with a Rick. I want to be adopted by someone else."

Rick frowned. He didn't often get that response. Most Mortys wanted to be adopted by a new Rick, even if they were a little nervous about it. "Well, too bad." He grumbled. "We just saved you... are you fucking kidding me? Look, I know your Rick wasn't great, but we're not all bad. We'll get you a good Rick. We require references." Rick shrugged. They only adopted out their Mortys to Ricks who weren't obviously abusive and not extremely insane. It would definitely be an improvement.

"No." Morty shook his head. His voice was trembling. "I want to live with someone else."

"Too. Bad." Rick repeated, feeling anger rising in his chest. As much as he tried to be patient, he was still a Rick, and didn't like Mortys being flat-out rude to him.

"I don't like Ricks!" Morty suddenly started sobbing. "I tried! I loved my Rick... I even told him so. All the time. I wanted him to love me too. I thought he'd finally prove that he cared if I ever was in real trouble, but he didn't! I got into the worst trouble there is and he didn't care. He doesn't love me."

Rick frowned. "Okay... Morty... Morty, we're not all like that. We'll get a good Rick for you. I know yours sucked, but the ones we work with are better."

"No they're not! Ricks are cruel! I hate them! I-I don't ever want to see another Rick ever again! I hate you guys! I'm leaving!" Morty stood up, still sobbing shakily as he tried to walk around Rick toward the door.

"Jesus Christ..." Rick grumbled, grabbing toward the boy's arms. "You're on a space ship, you little idiot. Where the fuck do you think you're gonna go?"

Morty's sobbing only increased as he raised his hands up to cover his face. His wrists were still bound in front of him. He was still dressed only in underwear, covered in scrapes and bruises. He looked so fucking pathetic.

"Morty, you gotta stay here." Rick spoke in a low voice, gripping his hands firmly but gently around Morty's upper arms while trying to maintain a level of patience that it seemed only he and Fat-Rick were even capable of.

"No!" Morty practically screamed, but his breaths were so shaky his voice was almost drowned out by them. "Get off of me!" Morty thrashed under Rick's hands.

"Calm down." Rick growled, starting to feel frustrated as he shoved Morty back away from the door. "Morty, stop fucking fighting me." Rick warned, still holding the boy's arms as they collided with the bed and fell back onto it. Rick pinned Morty's arms down against the boy's chest and glared down at him. "Stop fighting! You can't leave because there's nowhere to go. You're injured. We just plucked you up out of a forest filled with actual fucking monsters, and figurative monsters... God damn it, Morty... I'm trying to help you."

"No! Please let me go!" Morty cried, shoving weakly but frantically at Rick's chest.

"Stop it!" Rick growled, trying to be gentle as he held Morty down. "There's nowhere you can go. I'm not gonna just let you run off around the ship and get yourself hurt. You gotta stay here."

"Get off of me! Stop!" The boy screamed, thrashing as best as he could as his frantic breaths shook in his chest. "D-don't hurt me... I'm sorry... Rick, I'm sorry! Please! Please don't hurt me! I'm j-just scared... I wanna go home... I d-... Rick... I didn't mean to screw everything up... I j-just wanna g-go home... Please don't hurt me, Rick... Please!" Morty's screams dissolved into shaking sobs. He seemed to be trying to shrink down and make himself as small as possible rather than struggling at this point.

Rick frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you, Morty."

"Yes you are... Don't touch me! Please don't hurt me..." The boy sobbed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad! Please stop!"

Swallowing nervously, Rick let go of Morty and stood up, taking a step back toward the door, to keep Morty from leaving, but at the same time give him some space. That was a very large reaction to just being held back, prevented from leaving. It wasn't like Rick just hit him, or even threatened to. He just told him not to leave, and held onto him so he wouldn't. Morty seemed to expect Rick to beat the hell out of him... or worse.

"What did your Rick do to you?" Rick frowned.

Morty shook his head, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging his bound hands around them as he sobbed.

"Okay, listen..." Rick compromised. Morty clearly needed a minute to himself. Rick couldn't force the boy to spill the entire truth right here and now, and he didn't want to. He wanted Morty to confide in him willingly, not because he felt scared or threatened. The boy needed the opportunity to witness that the Ricks here wouldn't hurt him, that he could confide in them on his own terms, when he was ready to talk.

Morty continued crying breathlessly.

"Morty, stop crying. Listen to me. Take a fucking breath and listen." Rick stared.

Morty did as he was told, breathing in short, shaking breaths as he looked nervously toward Rick. He still stared at Rick like he expected the man to lash out and attack him. Maybe that was what his Rick would have done.

"I'm gonna go get you some water, and some clean bandages... Fat-Rick was supposed to be getting you some clothes, but he gets distracted... He's got like fuckin' ADHD or something... so I'll go see what I can find. Just stay here... Calm yourself down. Take some deep breaths. You're safe. I can't make you believe it, but it's true." Rick told him. "Nobody on this ship would ever hurt you in any way. You can trust that. You're safe."

Rick and Morty stared silently at each other for a few moments. Morty seemed to be calming down, but he still looked like he was on-edge.

"I'll give you that, okay? A couple minutes to yourself, to calm the fuck down." Rick offered. "But you have to give me something back."

Morty stared with wide eyes, shaking his head slightly and drawing his knees closer.

"You just have to stay here. In this room. That's all I ask. Don't sneak around or fuck with anything, and I'll give you like ten minutes. Okay?" Rick stared with a raised eyebrow. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes. You just stay put. Can you make that promise?"

Morty swallowed, but finally gave a small nod.

"Good. I'll be right back then." Rick forced a tight smile. "You're safe here, Morty. I promise."

With a tired exhale, Rick walked out of the room and down the hall. They should have considered that they might find a Morty who would need some clothes. He wasn't sure why none of them had thought about that yet. Morty would have to borrow some of Rick's, but the pants would be way too long, and the shirt sleeves too. It would be better than nothing.

"How's the route looking?" Rick asked as he walked past Scar-Cheek Rick.

"I'm getting there." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled, not taking his eyes off his work.

Regular-Rick 2 frowned. "We should try to get out of here soon in case they send more guards after this kid. Couldn't really get him to talk much, but whatever happened looks like it was pretty rough, maybe something personal - they might not want to let him go easy. And I don't think we need to worry about the possibly of his Rick wanting him back. Seems like the guy sold him to these people. So let's just get out here, fast."

"I'll get it done, Regular-Rick 2." Scar-Cheek Rick sounded agitated as he continued staring down at the navigation panel. "This is my thing. Calming down the Mortys is yours. He's not even with you." He noted as he looked Rick up and down.

"He's not an easy one to calm down." Rick frowned. "I'm giving him some space."

"So he woke up? Is he real fucked up like the one wild one we found?" Scar-Cheek Rick rose an eyebrow. "I don't want to do that again. I'm all for helping Mortys, but not if they're gonna bite me and destroy the ship. If he's violent, I say we take him to the nearest habitable planet and ditch him."

"He's not violent." Rick frowned. "He's scared."

"Well..." Scar-Cheek Rick shrugged. "Scared people freak out and get violent sometimes. Make sure he stays with you if he ends up acting like that. Leash him or something."

"He'll be okay. He's not going to lash out. He's hurt and scared. That's all. Just get this done so we can get out of here before anyone comes looking for him. His Rick's not dead, remember? We need to get going." Rick reminded him.

"We'll get going in fifteen minutes tops." Scar-Cheek Rick stared with an annoyed, raised eyebrow. "If you shut up and let me work. You want it faster, you fucking do it yourself."

Rick rolled his eyes. "Just figured putting in coordinates couldn't be that fucking big of a job. I could actually do it myself. I could run this whole operation by myself. It'd probably be infinitely easier."

"They've got a block up, but I'm working around it. Lay off, dick." Scar-Cheek Rick told him.

"Right." Rick nodded, narrowing his eyes when he remembered how getting onto this planet had been a little difficult too. They must not have appreciated inter-dimensional space-travel.

"We'll have to go out the old way, get up past the atmosphere, then warp out from there. It's not how I normally do it, so we've gotta rework some of this." Scar-Cheek Rick explained as he didn't take his eyes off the control panel he was fiddling with.

"Alright... Well, just try to get it done fast." Rick frowned.

"Fucking god damn it." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled as a piece of the panel popped off and landed on the ground. He picked it up, turned it over in his hands, then snapped it back in place. Then he shook his head, standing up and wiping his hands on the front of his pants. "That's cracked, so we'll have to make a new one at some point. I gotta go get my tools to finish re-routing. Can't do it with this falling off. The wire's too weak to hold it on its own. Don't fucking touch this. I know you think you know everything..." He walked off.

Rick shook his head and walked off in the other direction, toward a small kitchen to get Morty some water. He fished a bottle out of the refrigerator, then made his way toward his own bedroom to collect some clothing for the kid. Fat-Rick was already in there going through Rick's dresser.

Rick cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the door frame.

"Sorry..." Fat-Rick looked up. "I was gonna just give him some of mine, but they're so big. Figured yours would fit him best. Scar-Cheek Rick is taller..."

"I got it, idiot." Rick growled, snatching the shirt out of Fat-Rick's hands.

"How's he doing? He looked pretty beat up... Is he awake? You think he'll be okay?" Fat-Rick frowned.

"He's pretty upset." Rick noted, pulling out a drawer on his dresser and finding some shorts he used to sleep. They'd fit Morty better than full-length pants of course. "I couldn't get him to tell me everything... His shoulder was dislocated, but it's fixed. That's about all I managed. He's really jumpy. He seemed to think I was his Rick, even while I was explaining the multi-verse. I'm not sure he understands it... And I think his Rick may be in the habit of hurting him in someway or another because when I stopped him from walking out the door by grabbing onto him, he really freaked out."

Fat-Rick nodded. "Poor kid. You need my help?"

Rick shook his head. "Not right now. I think his Rick is abusive... At the very least, the guy left him on this planet on purpose - or at least that's how this Morty perceives it to be. He doesn't like Ricks. He flat out said it... So I think one of us interrogating him is quite enough."

"Alright. I'll be around if you need me." Fat-Rick shrugged.

Rick held his spare clothing in his hands and headed back to the Morty-room, but as soon as he opened the door and looked inside, he felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Morty was gone.

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	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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As soon as Rick left the room, Morty immediately began planning his escape. It wasn't going to be easy, since he was in a spaceship... But he had to get out of here. He wasn't as naive as he looked. The man who had 'rescued' him looked exactly like his grandfather. Fucking exactly... It was either him, or a clone or something. How the hell would Morty be expected to believe this guy wasn't going to be a violent, abusive bastard who would sell Morty to the highest bidder at the first chance?

Morty grabbed the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around himself, as he was cold, and honestly pretty embarrassed to be wandering around among these three versions of his grandfather with only underwear covering him.

Peeking out into the hall, Morty noticed no one was around. The space ship was pretty big. Like a small house, only more metallic and weird-shaped.

Pulling the sheet tight around his shoulders, holding it closed with one hand, Morty tip-toed down the hallway. He had no idea what the layout of this ship was. He had no idea how to get out of it... He didn't know how long he had been passed out either. For all he knew, they were far out into space at this point. Maybe getting away from the three Ricks would be impossible... But he had to try.

Morty made sure to keep his breaths low as he sneaked silently down the hall. He had learned long ago how to be very quiet when he moved. Rick was pretty quick to anger, so Morty tried to walk quietly so the man wouldn't notice him and find a reason to yell or get physical.

The hallway seemed to be a full circle. There were no corners. Just curves, so Morty moved slowly. At any moment, he knew a Rick (or someone else if there were others on this ship) might emerge from behind a bend. He also kept a close watch behind himself for the same reason.

Eventually, Morty came across what looked to be some kind of control panel near a glass door/window that was both on the wall and the floor. He cautiously leaned over the glass to see down below. They were still hovering over the Ubixian planet... Morty couldn't remember what Rick had actually called it. He just remembered that's what the knights called themselves - Ubixian Knights. He was pretty sure the planet itself was called something similar followed by a number.

Swallowing a lump in his throat as he stared down at the forest below, Morty frowned. The bodies of the two guards were laying down there. It was fairly far down, or else Morty would have probably just tried to break the glass and jump.

He realized the forest was dangerous. The people in the castle were horrible perverts... But he didn't trust these Ricks. He'd rather just find one of the cottages in the woods and take his chances. Tell the people there he'd be their servant forever if they just let him hide there.

Morty glanced toward the control panel next to the door. It couldn't be that hard to just lower the ship a bit and open the door.

He narrowed his eyes as he tried to make sense of the board of buttons, switches, and screens. Why couldn't Rick have labeled any of this? Why not have a button that just plainly said 'open door' or and up and down lever to raise and lower the ship?

Morty slowly reached toward a switch that was currently in-between up and down. Maybe flipping it up would take them up, and flipping it down would take them down. He bit his lower lip, then flipped it down, immediately whimpering when the whole ship rocked violently backward.

Morty stumbled back, hitting his back and head hard against the wall and choking out a pained breath. He frantically stumbled forward and reached back toward the switch, flipping it back toward the middle as his breaths shook and tears welled up in his eyes. Rick was going to know he was messing with the panel now... He was going to come find him. He was going to be angry.

"What the fuck?" An angry growl sounded from somewhere nearby.

Morty looked nervously around himself, wondering if he should retreat further into the ship or desperately try a few more buttons and switches. Hiding within the ship might save him from pain for a while, but they'd find him eventually, probably after getting even more angry with him for running from them... Then they'd hurt him... Maybe all three of them would. Maybe they'd kick him, beat him with a belt, break his arm. Maybe one of them would hold him back while another punched him in the stomach. Maybe one or all of these Ricks were sexual predators like The Sultan and his men. Maybe they'd hold him down and do that as punishment.

Whimpering shakily, Morty reached toward the panel again, pressing a large button, then shrinking down and covering his ears when an alarm began to sound. It was so loud, and was accompanied by flashing red lights.

"God damn it." Rick's voice grumbled as the Rick with a scar on his cheek came into view, grabbing Morty roughly by his arm and pulling him back. He immediately began pressing buttons on the panel, turning a key, then swearing under his breath when the panel popped off and landed against the floor with a crack.

Morty's eyes widened as he pressed his back against the wall. Had he broken the panel? Was it his fault that it fell off? Should he run? There was nowhere to go...

Whatever Rick was doing, it caused the alarm and lights to stop. Then he turned toward Morty with an angry scowl. "What the fuck, Morty?" He stared.

Morty shook his head, shrinking down and staring up with wide eyes. "I'm sorry..." He whispered.

"Don't fucking touch this." Rick growled, stepping toward Morty. "Don't ever touch this. All the shit on this ship... If it's not a fucking coloring book or toy truck it isn't fucking for you. Don't bother shit you don't understand. That's fucking common sense! God damn it! You could have crashed the whole fucking ship. You know that?"

Morty let out a tiny gasp, squeezing his eyes shut and bringing his hands up over his face to shield himself. Was Rick going to hit him?

"What are you doing?" Rick sounded both confused and annoyed. "Don't do that. Don't act like you think I'm gonna hit you. I don't fucking like that." Rick frowned, reaching down and grabbing Morty's arms, forcing them back down.

"I didn't mean to break it! Please j-just let me go!" Morty sobbed as he shrunk down as much as he could in the already quite confined space.

"You didn't fucking break it. I did." Rick stared. "Just don't fuck with it. If you don't understand it then you don't need to be trying to use it. That's a good general rule to remember. But you didn't break it. It was already broken."

"I didn't mean to!" Morty pulled desperately at his arms, easily yanking them out of Rick's grip. Maybe he wasn't holding onto him that tight. Morty blinked his eyes open and stared up at Rick. He wasn't holding onto him. Now was Morty's chance to get away.

"Did you not just hear me? I said-" Rick started, reaching out toward Morty's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Morty screamed, stomping his foot down on top of Rick's and slamming his knee up between the old man's legs.

"Motherfucker!" Rick growled, grabbing Morty's arm hard rather than tending to himself. His hand squeezed so tight around the boy's arm that Morty honestly feared he might snap the limb in two.

"Ow! Let me go!" Morty sobbed, pulling desperately at his arm. "You're hurting me! Stop! Let go!"

"Regular-Rick 2, you better come get this little prick before I fucking kill him!" Rick screamed, dragging Morty roughly down the hallway.

"Please let me go!" Morty sobbed, grabbing at Rick's fingers, trying to pry them off his arm. Morty's hands were still cuffed together, so it wasn't easy to do. "Don't hurt me. Please!"

"I wouldn't if you'd stop fucking fighting me." Rick growled. "Regular-Rick 2! Get out here right fucking now! Come get this dumb motherfucking kid! I'm losing my patience real fuckin' quickly!"

The other Rick, the fat one, emerged from around the bend, causing Morty to stop using his legs to follow the Rick dragging him down the hallway. He was scared of the one with the scar, but he was scared of this one too. He was bigger - he'd be harder to fight off if Morty had to. The Sultan was kind of overweight too. The Sultan tried to hurt Morty in a terrible, personal way... Maybe the fat Rick would too.

"Fat-Rick! Where's Regular-Rick 2? This is his fucking pet project!" Scar-Cheek Rick growled. "I told him I didn't want to take in any more wild ones."

"Uh... He was looking for him, but he went the other way... I think he was going to check our rooms. I could go look for him-" Fat-Rick offered.

"No, don't. Just fucking take him before I lose my shit." The Rick with a scar shoved Morty toward the other one, who caught him and hugged his arm around Morty's back as though he was trying to be gentle, like he was pretending to care about him.

Morty felt himself shaking as he froze under Fat-Rick's seemingly gentle grip. The Sultan pretended to care too. He was gentle until he started trying to pull Morty's pants off of him. Morty knew better than to trust even kindness at this point. Kindness was a trap.

Morty choked out frightened sobs, but gave up on fighting for now as he allowed Fat-Rick to pull him close. He was doomed here. The space ship was hovering pretty high up off the ground. There were three different Ricks here. He had nowhere to go. They were all angry and frustrated with him. He broke the control panel, maybe broke the ship by pressing the wrong buttons...

"Get him away from me... I don't want to end up fucking hitting him... I don't do that shit, but god damn it, he's getting on my fucking nerves. I try to be patient, Rick... This kid is fucking with everything around him. I just need him away from me before I lose my shit." Scar-Cheek Rick growled.

Fat-Rick pulled Morty closer, rubbing a hand lightly over his back in a way that may have been comforting if Morty weren't terrified of him. "He's just scared, Rick..." Fat-Rick breathed as Morty felt himself freeze. "You wouldn't hit him... I know you wouldn't..."

"You think?" Scar-Cheek Rick sounded out of breath. He was still really, really mad. "We should put this one back, Fat-Rick. He's too much." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. "We can't save them all. If this one crashes our ship, gets us killed... We can't help other Mortys if we're dead. We should give up on this one and go help ones that actually fucking appreciate it. We're doing this little prick a favor and he's acting like a deranged little shithead. Fuck this shit. He kicked me in the fucking balls. He's like a fucking wild animal. I don't even know where to fucking begin with this god damned kid."

Fat-Rick hugged Morty tighter against his chest as Morty squeezed his eyes shut and adjusted the sheet he had wrapped around his shoulders earlier, which was falling off of his arms by this point. He didn't like how close Fat-Rick was to him, but he was extremely scared to fight back any more than he already had. Scar-Cheek Rick already wanted to hit him. Maybe Fat-Rick would too if Morty pushed him away or tried to run and hide.

"No one ever said rescuing Mortys was gonna be a walk in the park." Fat-Rick breathed, still moving his hand lightly up and down over Morty's back. Morty still couldn't tell if he meant the gesture to be comforting, or if he was testing how much Morty would let him get away with.

"This kid's being a difficult little prick on purpose." Scar-Cheek Rick glared, balling his hands into fists.

Morty shrunk into Fat-Rick's embrace and let out a shaking whimper.

"The ones that are difficult are the ones who need us the most. Try to be patient." Fat-Rick suggested. "He's not being difficult on purpose... He's scared. It's rare that a Morty is manipulative like that. Maybe yours could be... Most of them aren't."

"Fuck that. He's fucking testing me and I'm not allowing it. I'm not gonna reward him for fucking kicking me and fucking up my ship. Get him away from me so I don't fucking punch him." Scar-Cheek Rick growled.

Morty whimpered softly, hiding his face in the other Rick's shirt and letting out another shaking sob. "I didn't mean to... Don't punch me... P-please... I j-just wanna go home."

"Come on." Fat-Rick breathed, leading him away, back toward the room the other Rick had taken him to earlier. "Nobody's gonna punch you..."

Morty shook his head, whimpering and sinking down to the floor as soon as Fat-Rick let go of him inside the same tiny bedroom he had just escaped from. He felt so trapped. He wanted to go home, but he wasn't sure what home even meant to him. His own home wasn't comfortable in any other sense than the fact that it was familiar, and he couldn't even go there because Rick would be there. Morty was scared of his Rick. He was scared of these Ricks. He was scared of everyone.

Morty brought his knees up toward his chest and hugged his arms around them as he couldn't help but to start sobbing. "I d-don't wanna be here..." He whimpered. He couldn't even really claim to want to go home, because home was fucking terrifying. If he went home, Rick would send him back to The Sultan. But he didn't want to be here either. He just wanted to be left alone.

"You're going to be okay." Fat-Rick assured him. "I know this is all new. It's scary... Nobody on this ship is going to do anything to you. Okay?"

Morty shook his head. He didn't believe that. Scar-Cheek Rick was angry and mean. He flat out threatened to punch Morty. Fat-Rick was big and intimidating. He looked like The Sultan. He even kind of acted like him. He was calm, a little more poised and articulate than Scar-Cheek Rick who just seemed angry and vulgar... Regular-Rick 2 looked way too much like Morty's Rick. Enough that Morty still wasn't sure he wasn't the same man just trying to trick him. Morty didn't feel safe here at all.

"Why don't you get up off the floor, Morty?" Fat-Rick suggested.

Morty stared back at him nervously.

"Come on, Morty. I know you don't want to just lay on the floor with your hands bound in front of you for the rest of your life... not wearing anything, just wrapped in a sheet... We've got to move forward." Rick suggested. "So stand up." He nodded reassuringly.

Morty felt himself shaking, but stood up and stared down at the floor. He still didn't trust any of these Ricks, but Fat-Rick seemed to be in an okay mood at the moment, and Morty didn't want to disobey him and make him angry when it would be easy to just stand up like he wanted. "I didn't mean to screw everything up..." Morty whispered. "I hope I didn't break the space ship..."

"I don't think you did. It's not broken. Scar-Cheek Rick is possessive over the controls. He won't even let me drive it. Have a seat on the bed and I'll try to get those cuffs off your hands." Fat-Rick offered.

Morty swallowed nervously, staring at the man with wide eyes. Why did he have to be on the bed? Was this a trap? Morty looked over the man's shoulder, toward the door. There was no way he was getting past this guy... Maybe not listening to his suggestions would just make him mad. Maybe Morty should do what he said until he tried something, since he was stuck in here with him either way. There was no reason at the moment not to just do as ordered.

Feeling himself shaking slightly, Morty walked over to the bed. sitting down and hugging the sheet tightly against his body.

"Do you want me to go get Regular-Rick 2?" Fat-Rick frowned, looking like he felt pretty uncomfortable. "I got a utility knife I can probably get those off with, but if you'd rather Regular-Rick 2 do it..."

Morty shook his head. "No." He whispered. He didn't need more Ricks in here. One was one too many. He also wasn't convinced that Regular-Rick 2 wasn't his grandfather trying to trick him. He could buy that Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick were different people from the Rick he knew - maybe even clones, or Ricks from alternate dimensions, even though he couldn't quite understand that theory... but Regular-Rick 2 looked 100% exactly like his grandfather.

"Alright..." Fat-Rick shifted from one foot to the other. "Well, he's probably still looking for you..." He glanced toward the door like he was thinking about going out of it. Morty hoped he did. "I don't want to leave you here alone..."

"I'm okay... You can leave..." Morty whispered, staring with wide eyes up at the man.

Fat-Rick shook his head, walking over and sitting down on the mattress next to Morty as the boy shrunk down. "Sorry, kid, but I don't think so... Last time we left you alone you almost crashed the ship. I'll stay with you until Regular-Rick 2 finds us."

Morty frowned, feeling his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to pretend he wasn't completely terrified right now. Fat-Rick didn't seem to understand how intimidating he was. He didn't have to outright threaten to hurt Morty for Morty to be afraid of him. He was so big. Morty knew if this man had sinister intentions, there was nothing Morty would be able to do to stop him from hurting him.

"Can I see those cuffs on your wrists?" Fat-Rick nodded down toward the bonds securing Morty's hands together.

Morty swallowed nervously, but raised his hands up slightly, holding his breath as Fat-Rick took Morty's hands in his and looked at the center of the device, where there seemed to be some sort of key hole.

"Can you get them off?" Morty whispered.

Fat-Rick narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Probably..." He guessed.

Morty nodded too, keeping his wide eyes focused on Fat-Rick's hands. He didn't want to be caught off-guard if the man stopped being helpful and chose to let his hands wander where they shouldn't.

"You okay?" Fat-Rick smiled warmly, but Morty wasn't fooled. The Sultan and his guard Thexd were each nice too, until they weren't.

"Yeah." Morty whispered, still staring with large eyes, watching this Rick's moves carefully. "Th-there's just three of you here, right?" He wondered, still trying to make sense of the whole situation and also trying to take both his and Fat-Rick's mind to a different topic of discussion.

"Yes." Fat-Rick answered, taking a small utility knife out of his pocket and opening it up, bringing the screw-driver part down toward the cuffs on Morty's wrists and starting to work on loosening them.

"W-well then why is he Regular-Rick 2? Why not just Regular-Rick?" Morty furrowed his brow as he held his breath, staring nervously down at Fat-Rick's hands. He could feel himself shaking. Fat-Rick could pin his arms down and hurt him right here and now if he wanted.

Fat-Rick frowned. "We used to have Regular-Rick with us. He's dead."

Morty swallowed. "What happened to him?" He whispered.

Fat-Rick exhaled. "We were trying to rescue a Morty and things didn't work out."

Morty continued staring, waiting for more explanation. He still wasn't sure about this whole plot of rescuing Mortys. How many Mortys needed to be rescued that there'd have to be a whole program for it? Why were so many of them abandoned or otherwise in need of being rescued? Because Ricks had a tendency to be awful? If Ricks were awful, these Ricks were awful. How did they expect him to believe they were good if every other Rick wasn't?

"It was a wild Cave Morty... On Cave-World." Fat-Rick explained, moving a slender pin-shaped part of his knife around in the key hole on Morty's cuff as he spoke.

Morty let out an inadvertent laugh. "Cave-World?" He smirked, ignoring his wildly pounding heart in favor of allowing himself to be amused by the thought of a place called 'Cave World.'

"Yes." Fat-Rick frowned. "It's very dangerous."

Morty's smile fell. Fat-Rick didn't look amused. Morty hoped he hadn't just made him angry enough to hurt him for it. "S-sorry..." Morty breathed.

"It's okay. I understand the name sounds like a theme park, but it is a planet... called Cave-World. Everyone lives in caves there because caves are just about everywhere. There also happen to be a lot of earthquakes. Regular-Rick was impaled by a stalactite that fell down during an earthquake." Fat-Rick explained.

Morty breathed in a small breath. "And he died?"

Fat-Rick nodded. "But we did save the Morty. He was a little wild - kind of like you, but less mentally there... He was more wound up and mindless, whereas you're more fearfully frantic, but cognitively, you're present. Observing, careful.."

Frowning, Morty looked down at his wrists as Fat-Rick continued working on the cuffs. He didn't like that Fat-Rick thought he looked fearful and frantic... but it wasn't untrue. Morty was fucking terrified right now. He still didn't trust this Rick or the other two. He felt on-edge, like if Fat-Rick did absolutely anything other than taking off the cuffs, Morty might punch him and run.

"We paired Cave-Morty up with a really patient Rick." Fat-Rick explained.

"Do you check on them?" Morty whispered. It seemed like he was going to be adopted to some unknown Rick... He wondered if he was going to get caught up in something awful again - if the Rick they passed him off on was going to be just as bad or worse than his own. "The Mortys you send off with random Ricks... Do you check back in?"

"Yes, we do. We have a catalog of every Morty and Rick we've matched up. We check every month or two, but sometimes weekly if we feel it's necessary - more with new matches or with very delicate cases - where the Morty came from someplace very rough. We actually have more staff at the Morty Safe Haven. It's not just us three. There's always one in the home, making sure the un-claimed Mortys are doing alright. A few for janitorial and cafeteria work... I know... seems unlikely that a Rick would do that. We tinkered with the idea of employing Jerrys to do that, but it just seemed like more of a hassle than it would be worth..." Fat-Rick chuckled.

Morty frowned. "All the staff are Ricks?"

"Yes... Good ones though. We have quite a few staff... Maybe fifteen? Only a few are really needed at the Safe Haven at a time. The Mortys we save can sometimes be a lot to handle, but really even the most disturbed ones aren't usually violent or destructive as much as they're reclusive. So three or four Ricks are usually around just in case they're needed by any of the Mortys. Then the others go out and check in on our re-homed Mortys. We've saved over four-hundred." Fat-Rick smiled as though quite proud of this. The cuffs snapped open at the same moment.

Morty breathed out a shaky breath, pulling his arms close to his chest and rubbing his wrists. Now he felt nervous all over again. When Fat-Rick said he'd take off the cuffs, Morty knew what to expect. He watched the man work, and knew what was happening. He didn't know what was going to come next.

He couldn't get it out of his head that Fat-Rick reminded him of the Sultan. The Sultan was heavy too - but taller, and a lot more mean-looking... But weren't all Ricks mean? If each Rick was slightly different than the last, maybe Fat-Rick would be abusive too, just like his Rick... only in a different way - a way like the Sultan.

"We should probably get you some clean bandages for those claw-marks..." Fat-Rick suggested, reaching out toward Morty's arm. "If that's from a skribeet, which it looks like it is, we'll need to be careful that they don't get infected. Skribeets have notoriously dirty claws. I did a bit of research on them as we headed over here. They're a leading cause of death on Ubix-405, and almost any other Ubix."

Morty inhaled a sharp breath and pulled his arm back.

Fat-Rick frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you. The bandages are dirty and falling off. We need to clean your injuries and re-wrap them so they don't get infected. Regular-Rick 2 was going to get you some clothes, so we should get these taken care of before he gets back." He reached out toward Morty, gently grabbing at the sheet wrapped around his shoulders and starting to pull it back.

"No!" Morty screamed, balling his hand into a fist and slamming it up against Fat-Rick's cheek, then crawling backward over the mattress.

"God damn it, Morty." Fat-Rick glared, bringing one hand up toward the cheek Morty had punched and reaching toward Morty's arm with the other. "You have to allow us to help you. I'm trying to be patient... I understand you've been through something scary... You just have to try to trust-"

Morty cut him off when he reached up and hit the man again. He wasn't going to trust fucking anyone, especially not this guy who was trying to grab his arm, trying to force Morty to allow him to help him when he didn't fucking want or need help. And even if Fat-Rick had been meaning to help, he probably wouldn't want to now. Not after Morty hit him - twice. Now he was probably mad.

"Morty!" Fat-Rick practically yelled. "Stop. You don't have anything to be afraid of here. You're safe. Calm down."

Morty felt his breaths and heart-rate quickening as he started to feel completely trapped, completely panicked. He wanted out of here. He knew there was nowhere he could go... But he needed out of this room... This small, closed in space where he was left alone with this man who was quite a bit bigger than he was. Morty wore nothing under the sheet but underwear, and this guy was trying to take the sheet away.

Letting out a small, shaking whimper, Morty stood and headed for the door.

"Morty, wait-" Fat-Rick reached out toward Morty's shoulder.

"No! Don't touch me!" Morty screamed, shrinking down, but kicking out at Fat-Rick's shin and shoving against the man's broad chest as hard as he could and running frantically toward the door again.

"Stop it!" Fat-Rick breathed, grabbing at Morty's wrist and wrapping an arm around his chest to pull him back. "I won't hurt you, Morty. I'm just trying-"

"No! Please, no!" Morty whimpered, thrashing under the man's grip, kicking and flailing until Fat-Rick had pinned him down against the bed. "Let go! Let me go! Please don't!" He sobbed. Fat-Rick was lying. He didn't just want to clean the wounds and bandage them. It was a ruse. He was going to do what the Sultan tried to do, what the guard tried to do.

"Morty, stop..." Fat-Rick breathed, but still held the boy's arms as Morty tried to pull them out of his grip. "Stop freaking out... Calm down. Morty, you've gotta listen to me. You need to take a fucking breath and relax."

"No!" Morty screamed, squirming, kicking, thrashing, and pulling harshly at his own arms, causing them quite a bit of pain. The Sultan and his creepy guard advised Morty to relax too. He wasn't going to. He wasn't going to just sit back and allow these people to hurt him. "Get off of me! Please! Let me go! I don't want to do this!" Morty sobbed.

"Don't want to do what?" Fat-Rick breathed, loosening his grip slightly, but still not enough. "Morty, what do you think I'm going to do?"

Morty let out a shaking sob, squeezing his eyes shut and shrinking down. The sheet was falling off of him at this point. He was quite exposed and Fat-Rick was still not letting him up. "Don't hurt me... I w-wanna go home..." He cried.

"Morty, please... Calm down." Fat-Rick sounded legitimately upset. "I'm not going to fucking hurt you. Just stop panicking and I'll let go. You're gonna hurt yourself... or me, thrashing around, kicking, freaking out like this. I can't let go until you calm down."

Morty shook his head. "Please!" He sobbed, still thrashing under Fat-Rick's grip. "Get off of me! Let me go!" He screamed.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Morty. I promise." Fat-Rick sounded nervous, but also very serious. "Stop fighting, so I can let go and we can both fucking calm down. I cannot let go of you if you're going to lash out and hit me. So relax. Take a fucking breath. I won't hurt you."

"Th-that's what The Sultan said... That's what the guard said..." Morty sobbed.

"Don't hit me... I'll let go... But if you hit or kick me again, I'm grabbing your arms or legs to make you stop. I'll let go if you fucking calm down. Just try to chill the fuck out, okay?" Fat-Rick released his grip and stepped back, allowing Morty to scramble off the bed and shrink back against the wall.

Morty's breaths were quick and shallow as he pressed his back against the wall and stared at Fat-Rick. The heavier version of his grandfather didn't look like he planned on coming after him again. He didn't have to let Morty go. He was much stronger than the boy and could have pinned him down and hurt him if he wanted to... but he wasn't doing that. He was just staring. He looked kind of scared. Not as scared as Morty felt though.

Fat-Rick stared nervously at Morty, who stared even more nervously right back. "I'll go get Regular-Rick 2... I think he's better at this than I am. Please, stay put... Okay?" Rick frowned.

Morty sniffed back tears as he stared with wide, unblinking eyes and breathed in and out shaking breaths. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe Fat-Rick really wasn't going to hurt him. When Morty fought back and cried, he let go... He didn't start hitting him. He didn't try to undress him... Morty asked him to stop... It took a second, but he did stop. He didn't have to. He was strong enough and Morty was weak enough that Rick could have held him down and hurt him, but he didn't.

Swallowing as he stared at the door after Fat-Rick left, Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout. Maybe he was being completely fucking ridiculous. Scar-Cheek Rick seemed pretty angry with him - he might be willing to hurt Morty... but maybe the other two truly were nicer than his Rick. Maybe Fat-Rick was on his side... Until now - until Morty screwed it up.

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	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

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Regular-Rick 2 frowned as he stared down at Scar-Cheek Rick working on the control panel. A few minutes ago, after Rick returned to Morty's room and couldn't find him, the entire ship had suddenly rocked backward, then forward... Then the alarm and lights went off. Apparently Morty had found the control panel and started fucking around with it.

Maybe he was trying to escape, to drive the ship somewhere or open the door... Maybe he was just trying to be destructive because he was lashing out - releasing pent up fear and rage... Rick wasn't sure. But as soon as he rushed toward the controls from where he had been searching on the other side of the ship, Scar-Cheek Rick informed him that he sent Morty with Fat-Rick and that Fat-Rick had been coddling Morty like the kid was a tiny, fragile little child - which he kind of was...

Regular-Rick 2 was confident Fat-Rick could handle Morty for a while, so he elected to stay here and try to help Scar-Cheek Rick with the navigation. They really needed to get out of here before anyone came looking for Morty - or the two Ubixian guards the Ricks had just killed.

"You have to reverse that switch to counter-" Regular-Rick 2 started.

"I know." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. "But I've got to re-attach the wires first. Dumb little shit Violent-Asshole-Morty fucked it all up."

"He did not." Regular-Rick 2 frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was already fucked up. It's been loose for weeks... I hope you didn't threaten to kill him or anything. He's already scared enough."

Scar-Cheek Rick shrugged. "I'm not gonna baby him just because he's a little beat up. We've all got shit goin' on. Still gotta be held accountable for our bullshit. He's not a toddler. He should know better than to fuck with a complicated navigation system he doesn't understand. I might have threatened to punch or kill him... I was pretty fucking frustrated, but I won't really hurt him. He knows that."

Regular-Rick 2 shook his head. "But he doesn't know that, Rick." He frowned.

"He'll learn." Scar-Cheek Rick shrugged again.

"Rick!" Fat-Rick walked briskly up toward them, causing both to look over toward him. "Um... Regular-Rick 2, I mean..."

"Where's Morty?" Regular-Rick 2 frowned as Scar-Cheek Rick looked back down toward the panel.

"He's okay. He's in his room. He's really jumpy, like you said... I was trying to clean up the scratches on his arm, and his chest... I think he got the wrong idea... He really panicked, punched me... Then I started getting mad..." Fat-Rick breathed. "I didn't hit him or hurt him or anything... I mean, I sorta held onto him, so he'd stop hitting me... but I think I accidentally scared the hell out of him. We was thrashing and kicking... I had to hold onto him so he didn't hurt himself, and he just panicked more and more. I finally got him half-calm, but he's still in there acting kind of like a wild animal. I told him I'd come and get you."

Regular-Rick 2 exhaled. "Okay." He nodded. He wasn't sure Morty was going to be any less nervous with him there instead, but he could give it a try. "Um... Why don't you help Scar-Cheek Rick with the-"

"No. I got it. Go start dinner, Fat-Rick." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. "I can do this myself. 'Help' is making it take longer. As usual."

Regular-Rick 2 rolled his eyes and picked up the clothing and bottle of water he had put down on the floor near the controls. Then he headed down the hallway, knocking when he reached Morty's room.

"Y-yeah?" Morty's tiny voice called out.

"It's me. Regular-Rick 2... I got some clothes and some water for you." Rick called out. "Can I come in?"

Morty hesitated, but finally called out a in a small voice. "Yeah."

Rick opened the door slowly, noticing Morty was standing up against the wall near the corner, clearly still quite nervous. He was shaking, had tears in his eyes... He looked like he fully expected Rick to burst in and slap him.

The boy didn't say anything as Rick looked him up and down. He didn't move or flinch. He just stared, shaking, breathing quick breaths. Rick could tell he needed to be slow and careful about this. The poor kid was completely on-edge. He was hurt, distrustful, scared.

"Brought you some clothes." Rick said again, tossing the clothing onto the bed. "And water. I'd suggest having a drink first and foremost. You're probably thirsty... It'd be a good idea to clean the scratches and put some clean bandages on them before you get dressed too... But I won't force you."

"Y-you won't?" Morty breathed.

Rick shook his head. "No. I think that would do more harm than good. I'd like if you could trust me... and I can't force that. If you'd rather, I can give you the supplies to clean and bandage the cuts yourself, but I need you to do a good job with it. They can get infected if you don't clean them well."

Morty blinked his wide eyes and stared silently at Rick.

"We can talk first... Ask any questions we have for each other..." Rick offered. "Try to understand each other a little better."

Morty frowned. "Y-you want to u-understand me?"

"Sure." Rick nodded. "I dedicate my life to helping Mortys who need it. I couldn't save mine. I'm saving all the rest instead. I want you to be okay... I want you to feel okay. To feel safe, secure... I don't want to force you to let me help you. I do want to help you... but on your terms."

Swallowing, Morty looked down, blinked a few times, then looked back up. "You couldn't save your Morty? W-what happened to him?"

Regular-Rick-2 frowned. He didn't like talking about his Morty... but maybe doing so would help this one. Maybe telling this Morty about Regular-Rick 2's Morty would help the boy to see that Rick really did care. His Morty wasn't gone because Regular-Rick 2 hurt him or didn't care about him.

"I'll tell you what... If you let me help you, I'll answer any and every question you have. Let me clean and wrap the scratches, we'll get you dressed..." Regular-Rick 2 started.

"Tell me first." Morty cut in, shrinking down slightly as though worried he was going to be punched for interrupting. "Tell me about your Morty... T-then I'll decide if I want you to help me..." He whispered.

"Okay." Rick nodded.

"R-really?" Morty breathed. "Y-you're not mad? I j-just kinda told you no... Y-you're not mad?"

"Of course not... Morty, I don't blame you for not trusting me... You just met me. I look like a man who you know, who didn't treat you fairly... I'm not surprised you're hesitant in all this." Rick smiled slightly.

"Are... Are you mad that I left the room after you told me not to?" Morty whispered, blinking his large eyes.

Rick shook his head. "No. I mean, I wish you'd have listened to me, but I forgive you. Just don't mess with the navigation system again. You knocked me on my ass when you rocked the ship so violently." Rick offered a small smile.

Morty seemed to be trying to force a smile back, but still looked way too nervous to manage.

"I'm not mad." Rick repeated. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay." Morty whispered.

Rick nodded, staring silently at Morty for a moment before moving on. "So you want to hear about my Morty? You said I looked just like your Rick, right?" He remembered.

Morty nodded, gulping nervously.

"You look just like my Morty... It's not comforting to you, but it makes my heart feel like it's glowing to see the grandson I lost in all the other Mortys I come across. I joked with him, kind of poked fun at him, implied I thought he was a fucking idiot. I mean, I'm not like a warm, cuddly story-book grandpa, by any means.. I could be a huge prick just like any other Rick out there... But I loved him."

"You did?" Morty whispered, staring with huge eyes. He looked absolutely shocked, like the idea of a grandfather loving his grandson was completely foreign to him.

"Of course. I still love him. I meet other Mortys every day. None are quite like him. He's my one and only and I won't forget him." Regular-Rick 2 exhaled.

"You wouldn't just replace him with one of the other Mortys you find?" Morty wondered with a frown. "B-because you l-look exactly like my Rick... If you were meaner, I wouldn't know the difference. Y-you could find one who looks exactly like him..."

Rick shook his head. "Looks don't mean shit. Just take your Rick and me for example. We're completely different. And you and all the other Mortys... They're not just like the one I lost. He's irreplaceable..."

"And you like actually loved him? You didn't just keep him alive so he could carry stuff for you? You actually cared about him? Like you made sure he didn't get hurt and took care of him if he did get hurt?" Morty frowned.

"Yes." Rick frowned too, connecting that this Morty's Rick didn't seem to care about him. He did let him get hurt, and didn't even help him afterward.

Morty swallowed and looked down. "What if he like screwed things up? Like broke or lost something of yours? Or tripped and ran into you or just did something stupid? Did you get mad?"

Rick laughed. "Yeah... But I still loved him... Mortys always fuck things up. It's what they do... He was still my grandson. My one and only grandson. He was a complete fuck-up, but god damn it, I loved him."

"But you got mad at him for screwing everything up?" Morty whispered.

"Yeah. Every day." Rick laughed. "He fucked up everything all the time and he knew it. It was weird if we went a day without him fucking something up. We both came to expect it. Sometimes I was almost convinced he was fucking things up on purpose, but I actually don't think it was deliberate. He was just that much of a clusterfuck."

"Was he scared of you? Did you hit him when he screwed up?" Morty stared.

Rick frowned. "No." He shook his head. "My Morty was typically pretty fearless. He wasn't scared of anything... certainly not of me. I didn't hit him. Did your Rick hit you?"

Morty frowned and looked down.

"He shouldn't have hit you, Morty." Rick reminded him. "You know that, right?"

Morty shrugged. "I'm always screwing up." He whispered. "I lose and break things, and get scared... I get lost or trip or bump into things when I'm not paying attention. He gets mad and frustrated with me."

"Ricks always think they're right... and we usually are... but yours was wrong to do that do you." Rick reminded him.

"I lost his money." Morty shrugged, still staring at the floor. "And I break things accidentally... Spill stuff... And I guess I ask dumb questions and am annoying." He breathed. "I don't mean to... B-but Rick hits me all the time. He grabs me really hard and squeezes, even when I don't fight back and j-just go with him. I think he's trying to hurt me, because I'm annoying and a screw up."

Rick felt his shoulders slump and his heart sink as he stared down at Morty, who looked so small and sad as he stared down at the floor and stuck his lower lip out in a pout. Did he actually believe he deserved any of the things his Rick did to him? Did he think his mistakes warranted being hit?

"He got real mad one day when I was eleven... I sneaked out into his lab in the garage and I was kind of trying to do experiments..." Morty frowned.

Rick couldn't help but to grimace. That was really fucking dangerous. Even he would have been completely fucking pissed if his Morty did something so dumb. Mortys didn't understand the complex science experiments Ricks performed. Ricks always had dangerous chemicals and elements lying around. An eleven year old boy with very limited science education would not possibly know how to safely handle them.

"I mixed chemicals and he came out into the garage and started yelling, saying they were unstable and..." Morty hesitated, looking up with a frown and tears in his eyes. "He used the chemicals I mixed and burned my arm... On purpose. Up here..." Morty moved the sheet down to expose his upper arm, revealing a somewhat large scar.

"Fuck..." Rick breathed, reaching out with his fingertips and touching the rough patch of skin.

Morty gasped and shrunk back.

"Sorry..." Rick drew his hand back and frowned. "Morty, that's fucking terrible. He shouldn't have done that."

"I shouldn't have been playing with his science stuff." Morty frowned, covering the scar back up and shrinking down. "I was being dumb..." He whispered. "He was right about what I mixed being dangerous or it wouldn't have hurt when he poured it on me. Th-that's what he said... Th-that it was my fault it hurt because I was the idiot who mixed it..."

"Morty... Being dumb doesn't mean someone has the right to hurt you on purpose. My Morty fucked up everything all the time. I never hit him. I never fucking burned him as a god damned punishment... Jesus Christ." Rick frowned. "You don't fucking deserve that. I never hit my Morty. I never did anything to deliberately hurt him, no matter how much he fucked up."

"Never?" Morty narrowed his eyes like he didn't believe such a claim was possible.

Rick shook his head. "Not even once."

Morty nodded and looked down. "What did you do when he screwed up then?"

Rick shrugged. "Told him he was dumb, or laughed it off. Did something to make his life kind of annoying for a while. I don't know... I wasn't perfect. I wish I hadn't said some of the things I said... I didn't know my time with him was going to be so short."

"How did he die?" Morty looked back up.

Rick exhaled and closed his eyes. "I fucked up... I was fucking around with unstable particles in the garage. I needed a component I had to portal to another planet for. Morty had school in the morning and it was like 3am... so I went on my own... Accidentally exploded the house while I was gone. Morty was in it. Summer, Beth. Dumbfuck Jerry... I fucked up and killed them all."

Morty breathed in a small breath as he stared with huge eyes. "Did you cry?" He asked.

"What?" Rick frowned. "Of course I fucking cried. I tried to overdose on pills after. I puked 'em all up, but damn it if I didn't try. I killed my whole damn family. I cried like a bitch."

"You cared that they died?" Morty asked.

"Uh, yeah..." Rick forced a small laugh. "You from a sociopath dimension or what? Jesus Christ."

"No." Morty whispered. "My Rick accidentally killed my family with a science experiment too - except I was with him, so I didn't die. I don't think he cared. I cared. I cried a lot. He didn't. He just got meaner and meaner. Started yelling more, hitting me more. When he burned me with the chemicals, that was after my family was gone. My mom would have been real mad if she was still alive and she saw the scar."

"I fucking bet she would have. I would too... I am fucking mad right now that he did that to you, Morty." Rick frowned. "I'm sorry he hurt you." Rick frowned. "You didn't deserve that. Ricks aren't notorious for being loving, caring parental figures... but you definitely deserve better. I don't think I expressed to my Morty enough how much I cared about him... it took me a long time after he was gone to find a new purpose in my life. I couldn't save my Morty, so I save other Mortys. I can't keep my Morty safe anymore. I can keep you safe."

Morty smiled slightly. He had tears in his eyes, but looked more happy than sad or scared.

"Will you let me help you, Morty? I've got a first aide kit. We can get you all patched up. Scar-Cheek Rick is gonna get us headed in the right direction. Fat-Rick's gonna start on dinner... We'll get you cleaned up, comfortable... Have dinner, then you can get some sleep. I imagine you're exhausted."

"I am." Morty whispered.

"Can we do that then? Will you let me clean and bandage the scratches?" Rick asked again.

Morty nodded. "I guess so... but you have to stop if I say."

"I will." Rick promised. "You tell me the second you feel uncomfortable or scared and I'll back off. Alright?"

"Alright." Morty answered in a tiny voice.

Rick smiled. "Great. Thank you for trusting me, Morty."

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	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

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"My Rick came to this planet because he was going to buy some kind of energy balls from the Sultan here..." Morty explained as Rick carefully cleaned each of the scratches on his arm. Morty had scratches on his upper-back, stretching across one shoulder, and across his chest too. Rick figured dealing with the ones on his arm first would be a good start - to show Morty he meant no harm before needing to pull back the sheet he'd wrapped around himself - which he had been holding securely closed since Rick got in here.

"What, he wasn't just gonna steal them?" Rick frowned. Morty's Rick sounded like a complete piece of shit. He was surprised he'd be willing to pay for anything. Even Regular-Rick 2 didn't usually pay for things when he could avoid it.

"Well, he probably stole the money he was going to use." Morty shrugged, watching Rick work on his arm. He wasn't physically shaking anymore. His voice wasn't a trembling whisper. He didn't have tears in his eyes. This conversation felt pretty casual at this point.

"So how was it you ended up being left down there on your own?" Rick wondered.

"I dropped the backpack... It had the money in it. Well, I didn't drop it. A big monster was chasing me, trying to kill me. It grabbed the backpack and ate it. And it scratched me while it was trying to grab me." Morty told him. "That's where these marks came from."

Rick nodded. That made sense. Morty claimed his Rick was abusive, but the cuts on Morty's body looked much more like claw-marks than anything else.

"So then the knights from the castle were in the woods and scared the monster off. They took me back to the castle. But the money was gone, and I guess that was a big problem. Instead of just forgetting about buying the energy things, The Sultan kinda... Wanted to like... trade them to Rick... F-for me." Morty looked down and bit his lower lip.

"Your Rick fucking sold you to him?" Rick frowned, pausing wrapping a bandage around Morty's arm.

"I guess..." Morty forced a small laugh. "And I wouldn't do it..."

"Wouldn't do what?" Rick furrowed his brow as he finished wrapping Morty's arm.

Morty shook his head, pulling his arm back into the sheet he had securely wrapped around his shoulders and holding it closed. "He wanted me to stay at the castle for four days. He didn't really spell it out specifically, but I could tell what he was gonna do. He wanted to do bad things...Like sexual things... He tried to take off my pants, and I told him no, but he kept doing it 'til I hit him and ran."

Rick inhaled a small breath. He suspected something like that of course - as Morty was dressed only in underwear when they found him. Obviously he didn't choose to run around in the forest at night with only underwear and socks on.

"I found Rick, and I told him, but he didn't care. He told me to stay with The Sultan. He said four days wasn't that bad... That I should just let him touch me and keep me there for four days because it was like getting the energy balls for free." Morty breathed, looking down as he spoke.

"Free for him." Rick frowned. "Can I see the back of your shoulder? We can move the sheet down just enough to clean the marks there."

Morty silently nodded and turned a bit so that his back was part-way to Rick, but didn't move to actually lower the sheet, so Rick reached slowly toward it, sliding it down just enough to see the long, angry-looking claw streaks stretching from the back of Morty's shoulder, toward the center of his back.

"You okay, Morty?" Rick asked as he drew his hands back, waiting for Morty to let him know he wasn't going to freak out.

"Yes." Morty whispered, his voice sounding a little more out of breath now.

"Do you need a minute?" Rick frowned.

"N-no... I think I'm okay..." Morty's voice was still tiny.

"Alright... You can tell me to stop any time, okay?" Rick reminded him as he reached down and started cleaning the cuts with careful, gentle hands.

"Yeah." Morty whispered, hugging the sheet around himself as much as he could with one shoulder exposed.

"So Rick just left you with him? Even after he tried to hurt you?" Rick asked.

Morty nodded. "He got real mad that I tried to tell him no. Rick did, I mean. He beat me up... He's the one that dislocated my shoulder... I didn't want to stay at the castle... Rick wasn't asking me though. He was telling me. He hit me and broke my arm, and then left me there." Morty sniffed.

"That was a piece of shit move, Morty. Your Rick is a bastard." Rick frowned. "If I can clean the ones on your chest and then bandage them both together that'd probably work best... So I can wrap the gauze around your chest and up over your shoulder and arm. That okay?"

"Yeah." Morty nodded, but bit his lower lip and stared past Rick's shoulder when the man turned the boy carefully back around.

"Can I move this down?" Rick asked, pinching the sheet carefully between his fingers.

"R-rick?" Morty whispered, staring up into Rick's eyes.

Rick swallowed. Even his own Morty wasn't usually this genuine with him, didn't share his fears and doubts so freely, didn't stare into Rick's eyes like he was looking into his soul.

"Do you promise you won't hurt me?" Morty asked.

"Of course." Rick frowned.

"You promise you're not my Rick? This isn't a trap? Y-you really do want to help?" Morty whispered.

"I promise, Morty." Rick stared back.

"Okay..." Morty inhaled a shaky breath and moved the sheet down to reveal the last of the claw marks, and quite a few bruises of various shades.

Rick couldn't help but to grimace. He'd seen all of this already, but it still looked so dreadful. Morty was so small and innocent. He couldn't have possibly deserved any of this. Even if someone just wanted to control him, force him to stay somewhere, hold him down... The bruises were so violent-looking, so large and dark. The amount of force clearly dealt out was so much more than necessary.

"A-am I gonna be okay?" Morty whimpered, perhaps seeing in Rick's expression how shocked the man was by Morty's condition.

"Yeah." Rick forced a smile. "You're okay... I'm sure all that hurts... But we'll fix you up, Morty... So how'd you end up in the woods with those creeps?" Rick asked.

Morty closed his eyes and let out a small breath, then blinked them back open to watch Rick's hands as the man cleaned the cuts stretched across his ribs. He completely ignored Rick's question. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe he was just so nervous he didn't even hear him ask.

Rick worked slowly and carefully, wanting to be sure he didn't scare the kid, wanting to be sure his touch didn't make the injuries hurt worse. He had so many bruises on his ribs - like he'd been kicked... They were even various shades of purples and greens - like they weren't all from tonight.

Morty breathed in a sharp breath and winced as Rick cleaned one of the scratches. Rick drew his hand back quickly, raising his free hand up in front of himself to show Morty he meant no harm. "Sorry." Rick grimaced. "Did I hurt you?"

"N-no. Well, kind of. It... It stings..." Morty breathed, his voice shaky.

"You want me to stop for now?" Rick frowned.

Morty shook his head no. "It's okay..."

"Alright..." Rick swallowed, reaching back toward the cuts and trying to work even more carefully. Unfortunately, cleaning the scratches was probably just going to be painful. It didn't matter how Rick did it. It was going to kind of hurt.

Rick felt himself freeze when Morty suddenly reached up and grabbed his free hand, silently squeezing it while he closed his eyes and shrunk down slightly. Morty let out a tiny whimper as he gripped Rick's hand and refused to open his eyes.

"Morty... I can stop..." Rick breathed. "We can take a break and-"

"No, it's okay... I can handle it... I just..." Morty cut himself off with a shaking breath. "It doesn't hurt that bad... I'm just... K-kinda scared... M-maybe I shouldn't be. Y-you're not gonna do anything... I'm j-just nervous."

Rick shook his head, squeezing Morty's hand reassuringly. "You don't have to be scared or nervous, Morty. I understand that you're scared. I think I kinda get why... It's okay. Nobody on this ship is anything like the people back there. We're not like your Rick, or the bastards he left you with. I promise I won't do anything."

"I know..." Morty whispered. "I think maybe I believe you..."

Rick smiled slightly. This Morty had clearly been through a lot. Trusting wasn't easy for him. It felt like a great success to earn any bit of trust from this boy, especially so early. Other, more wild Mortys had taken so much longer to trust any of the Ricks this much.

Morty swallowed, breathed in a small breath, then started telling the rest of his story. "After Rick left me there, one of the guards came in. He said The Sultan wouldn't want me to wear my pants, so he took them. He wasn't rough, really. Not at first. He didn't say he was gonna do anything... I mean, I was totally fucking terrified, but I didn't fight much, because I figured he would only hurt me if I made things difficult..."

Rick frowned. He hoped Morty didn't feel that way right now - he hoped the boy wasn't allowing Rick to help clean and bandage his injuries because he was scared Rick would hurt him otherwise.

"He kinda implied that he was just taking my pants because that's what The Sultan wanted, but that he wasn't going to actually do anything, but he did start doing something... He started grabbing at me too... He said he was showing me what to expect... and he shoved his hand down the front of my underwear and like grabbed me... P-pretty hard too. Then he grabbed my hand and tried to make me do it to him too." Morty whispered.

"Do what to him?" Rick frowned. "Grab his dick?"

Morty let out a soft, nervous laugh. "He had his hand stuck down... um... d-down the front of my underwear... He grabbed my hand and pulled it down t-toward his... y-you know... like... private parts... I got scared and hit him and pushed him back and ran. Then he and another guard found me in the woods. They chased me, I guess and caught me. H-he was gonna make me put it in my mouth." Morty stared down at the floor again, blinking back unshed tears.

"It's okay..." Rick breathed, still cleaning the scratches on Morty's chest very carefully as anger filled his chest. He tried to remain calm on the surface though. Morty didn't need to see him this angry. "You're safe now." He assured the boy.

"I was really scared, b-but I couldn't do it. He said if I didn't... H-he'd do it th-the other way... Like..." Morty swallowed and nodded down toward his lap. "I w-wouldn't let him p-put it in m-my mouth... He was gonna... Like... do it down there... He grabbed my arm and started pulling me. I know wh-what he was going to do... He said what he'd do if I didn't do what he said, and it was worse than doing it with my mouth, but I just couldn't let him... I was so scared, Rick... B-but then you guys showed up." Morty explained. "I was still scared, because I didn't know what was going on... B-but I guess you guys are nice. You are... Fat-Rick maybe is..."

Rick nodded, exhaling softly as he began wrapping bandages around Morty's chest and upper-back. "Sorry you had to go through that, Morty... We'll get you with a better Rick. We wouldn't give a Morty to anyone like that."

Morty looked down at his chest, blinking as he touched the bandage carefully with his fingers. "Th-thank you, Rick." He whispered.

"No problem." Rick smile slightly. "Let's get you dressed... I can step out for a minute if you want to do it yourself." He offered, standing back upright and taking a step back.

"Don't leave." Morty suddenly requested, reaching out and grabbing Rick's sleeve. "I just..."

"It's okay. You don't have to explain. I'll stay. Do you need help?" Rick frowned. He didn't think Morty was hurt that bad. Sure, his arm had been dislocated earlier, but it was fixed now. It might hurt a bit, but he should be able to manage putting on a shirt.

"I've got it... I just don't want to be left alone..." Morty pouted, reaching toward the clothing Rick had put onto the bed earlier. He pulled the shirt down over his head. It was too big and the sleeves were way too long, but it was all Rick had.

Rick couldn't help but to smile as Morty held his arms up and looked at the sleeves hanging down past his fingers like he was completely confused. "Is this your shirt?" Morty frowned, looking up at Rick.

"Yeah." Rick shrugged. "Scar-Cheek Rick is taller than me, and Fat-Rick is fat... Mine was the closest to your size. We don't have anything smaller on the ship. Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Morty smiled. "Are these boxer shorts?" He laughed softly as he looked down at the shorts.

"Yeah." Rick laughed. "My pants wouldn't fit you at all. We'll get you some Morty-sized things eventually."

"If you rescue Mortys all the time, you should get some Morty-sized things to keep in the space ship." Morty suggested, standing up and stepping into the shorts, pulling them up and holding them in place around his waist, as they were still a little too big to stay in place on their own.

"Yeah, I should..." Rick took a step toward Morty, kneeling down onto his knees so he was at about eye-level with the kid. "Can I fix this waist-band on these?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, fully expecting the boy to refuse to let Rick anywhere near that part of the garment.

Morty nodded, watching silently and carefully as Rick took a pocket knife from his belt, cut part of the waist-band, and tied the two pieces securely together, effectively making it smaller around Morty's waist.

"That better?" Rick asked, looking back up at Morty.

Morty had the start of tears in his eyes, but he nodded. Rick wasn't sure if he was upset... Maybe he shouldn't have altered the garment. Maybe Morty nodded when Rick asked if he could adjust the garment because he was scared to say no.

"You okay?" Rick frowned.

Morty nodded again. "I j-just appreciate that you're being so nice... I can't even believe it..." He laughed nervously. "My Rick didn't like me... I wanted him to. I loved him... But he didn't love me."

"That's his fuckin' problem, Morty." Rick felt a tiny hint of tears in his own eyes as well. Back when his own Morty was alive, Rick loved him so fucking much. He didn't show it, but he loved that kid more than he'd ever loved anyone. If his Morty had told him that someone tried to sexually assault him, Rick would have fucking killed that person. He could barely even believe that a Rick - a version of his own self - would be so fucking cruel.

"Rick knew what The Sultan was going to do." Morty repeated in a tiny voice, as though still shocked that his Rick would knowingly allow such a thing. "I know he didn't like me... He didn't love or care about me... But I just d-didn't think... I mean... Th-that's more than just not liking me... He m-must have-" Morty cut himself off with a soft, choked sob, bringing his hands up toward his face and shrinking down. "He ha-hates me..." Morty sobbed. "Y-you wouldn't let that happen to som-someone unless you f-fucking completely hated them!" He cried, hiding his face in his hands.

Rick exhaled softly, reaching his arms out and pulling Morty into a hug. Morty surprisingly hugged him back pretty tightly, sobbing into his chest.

"Your new Rick's gonna love you, Morty. I won't let you go to anyone who doesn't care about you. I promise." Rick spoke in a low voice, trying to keep it from betraying his emotions. It broke his heart that this version of his grandson had suffered to this degree - that his Rick knew these people would hurt and abuse him and he left Morty with them anyway.

Ricks weren't known to be the softest, most empathetic of people, but most of them at least cared more about their Mortys than that. Most would yell at the kid, call him names, maybe even shove him from time to time, but they'd never let him be sexually abused. This poor little Morty had been very unlucky to have been born into a family that included such a selfish, heartless grandfather.

"Y-you could be my new Rick." Morty whispered in a voice mostly muffled by Rick's chest.

Rick breathed out a forced, shaky laugh. "I don't..." He hesitated, not wanting to flat out say no, but knowing he couldn't say yes either. "I kind of find the Mortys for other Ricks... I'm not really prepared to have a Morty right now... I just... I wouldn't even... I mean, I don't even have a home on an actual planet, Morty. I live in this star-ship... I'm working pretty much constantly rescuing Mortys that need my attention. We wouldn't be able to send you to school or anything. You wouldn't have a good life with me."

"Yes I would." Morty frowned, pulling back out of the hug and staring up at Rick. "You're nice... I wouldn't have to be scared all the time. A-as long as you keep Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick from hurting me. I could just stay out of the way, just stay away from them..."

"They wouldn't hurt you." Rick frowned. "But we're not adopting Mortys... None of us are equipped to take care of you. We'll make sure you get somewhere safe though."

Morty exhaled and looked down. "Okay." He said in a small voice.

"Why don't we go see if dinner is ready?" Rick suggested, reaching down and rolling up each of the sleeves on the shirt Morty was wearing.

Morty nodded silently, allowing Rick to lead the way.

As they walked, Rick felt dread and guilt in the pit of his stomach. His own Morty could never be replaced... and he and the other Ricks agreed long ago to never get too attached to the Mortys they rescued. But this Morty seemed so drawn to him, and Rick was sort of drawn right back. Morty wanted to stay... Rick honestly kind of wanted to let him...

But he couldn't. That's not what their organization did. That wasn't why they found Mortys. They could save them all, but couldn't adopt them all. It just wouldn't make sense to start keeping any. If he kept this one, Fat-Rick would find one he wanted to keep later. Maybe Scar-Cheek Rick would find one he was drawn to. They'd end up crowding the whole ship with Mortys they refused to part with. It just wasn't a habit they could afford to adopt.

As much as it seemed appealing, he knew he couldn't actually let Morty stay with them. They had a job to do, and a traumatized Morty just didn't fit in with their plan.

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	10. Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

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"How long until we get there?" Morty spoke in a small voice as he pulled his blanket up under his chin and stared at Regular-Rick 2 with wide eyes.

Scar-Cheek Rick had fixed the navigation system, they had all had dinner together, and they were heading toward what Regular-Rick 2 had called the 'Morty Safe Haven' - which was a kind of a nice name meaning 'orphanage.' They were going to just leave him there with Ricks he didn't know, so other Ricks he didn't know might adopt him. Maybe even his own Rick would somehow find him, lie about who he was, steal Morty back and really, really hurt him as punishment for running away... Even though Morty didn't even mean to run away. Not from Rick. He ran from The Sultan and his guards. He didn't mean for these Ricks to take him...

"Probably about a day." Rick answered. "We've got the same technology every other Rick has, but moving a whole ship through a portal - or warping from one place to another - takes so much energy. We try to do it old-school when we can."

Morty nodded slightly. So he had one day before he had to be completely fucking terrified again. They were going to just give him to some other random Rick... Whether they promised they'd place him with a nice one or not, Morty still didn't trust it. How the hell were they supposed to know if this random Rick really was nice or not?

What if there was a Rick out there like The Sultan? One who would pretend to be nice just until Morty was handed over... Then he'd hurt him... Or a Rick like his old Rick, who would yell at him and hit him all the time... rent him out to people like he was his Rick's personal possession...

"Are you all set then, Morty? If you get thirsty-" Rick started.

"Can you stay for a while?" Morty interrupted. He really didn't like the idea of being left alone right now. This Rick in particular seemed nice. If Morty was capable of fully trusting someone, he'd trust this guy. He didn't trust the others. Not as much as this one.

"Um... J-just like stay in here in the room?" Rick frowned as though completely perplexed by the question.

"Yeah..." Morty whispered. "You don't have to..." He backpedaled. This Rick was the nicest person Morty had ever met... at least, he seemed like he was at the moment. Morty was still kind of scared of the other two. He just wanted to have someone safe around so he could fall asleep... but he didn't want to be annoying.

"I'll stay... You wanna just kinda chat for a bit until you get tired?" Rick suggested with a shrug as he pulled a chair up next to Morty's bed.

Morty smiled. "Yeah... I mean, if you want. If that's not annoying..."

"Okay... It's not annoying. We can talk. What about?" Rick wondered.

Morty shrugged. "I dunno... Why are you so nice when my Rick isn't? Scar-Cheek Rick isn't nice either. Fat-Rick kind of is... b-but he's still scary..."

"Every Rick is different... Our experiences shape us, just like yours do. Not every Morty we've met has been the same. Even ones with similar backstories can be very different. I met a Morty once with a situation similar to yours... Maybe even worse in a way. He was so violent. Scar-Cheek Rick almost lost his patience with that one. You're not violent. You've been a bit destructive and wild - but in a more controlled and defensive way... and you're quiet, contemplative. The other Morty would barely talk, seemed endlessly angry. It took a while to place him with a Rick. We had to find a really tough one."

Morty's eyes widened. "I don't want a tough Rick... I want one like you. A nice one... One who will help me if I get hurt, instead of being the one to hurt me..."

Rick frowned. "Well, that Rick was tough in the sense that he could handle his Morty lashing out. He was stern, but not abusive. We won't put you with a Rick who would hurt you."

"You can't know that." Morty frowned. "What if he pretends to be nice just until you give me to him?"

"We check in..." Rick reminded him. "And we require references. Morty, I'll give you a contact number you can call, and if your new Rick ever hurts you or makes you feel like you're in danger of being hurt, just call. We'll come check on you. Someone will... Probably won't be me."

Morty exhaled and frowned. He had a feeling he had let himself grow attached to Regular-Rick 2 way too fast. He was the first person in so long to show Morty any ounce of kindness and patience without an ulterior motive. Morty loved the feeling of security and safety so much he wanted to keep it forever, but it just wasn't going to happen.

To Morty, this Rick was the grandfather he always wished he had, someone kind, caring, gentle... Regular-Rick 2 didn't yell. When Morty was scared of him and was being difficult, this Rick didn't grab him, throw him against a wall, pin him down. This guy was exactly the kind of person Morty desperately wanted in his life.

But to Rick, Morty was just another sad kid who needed to be sent to a new home - not his home of course. Morty was one of countless tear-jerkers, one of hundreds of almost identical Mortys whose Ricks fucking sucked... who would probably end up with other Ricks who sucked...

Blinking a few times, Morty chose to change the subject away from himself and his situation. He was exhausted, and he needed his mind to be away from himself long enough so that he could fall asleep.

"So do Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick have Mortys?" Morty wondered. "Where are they?"

"Fat-Rick's Morty died, unfortunately." Rick frowned. "I know he accidentally scared you earlier, but he's actually very kind. I think he wasn't sure how to handle you. He gets a little uncertain around Mortys who are lashing out in any way. Sometimes he doesn't know how to react, but he cares a lot about Mortys and really loves to help."

"B-but how did his Morty die?" Morty wondered.

"He fell off a really tall cliff. It was such an avoidable accident... So simple... not even a good story. But that's what happened." Rick frowned.

"Wow." Morty breathed, suddenly feeling kind of guilty for freaking out earlier when he was with Fat-Rick. The man kind of reminded him of The Sultan, but Morty realized that wasn't fair. Fat-Rick wasn't the Sultan... He gave Morty no real reason to believe he'd hurt him. He was just a sad Rick without a Morty, trying to help other Morty's to fill that void in his heart. "So did Scar-Cheek Rick's Morty die too? Did he love his Morty like you and Fat-Rick loved yours?"

"Scar-Cheek Rick is a little more bitter than sad, I'm afraid." Rick laughed slightly. "I mean, that bitterness is masking a sadness I'm sure, but he's definitely got that whole aloof-angry-Rick thing down... Fat-Rick and I are actually uncharacteristically patient as far as Ricks go. So was Regular-Rick, who used to be with us. We started this whole business a few years ago. Scar-Cheek Rick approached us later. His Morty stole his portal gun and ran away."

Morty breathed in a small breath, widening his eyes. That was a bold thing to do - especially with Scar-Cheek Rick, who seemed a lot less patient than the others. "Then what happened?" Morty whispered.

Rick shrugged. "Don't know. His Morty used the portal gun to run away to a different dimension, but Scar-Cheek Rick had no way of knowing which dimension he went to. He never could find him. He actually approached me and Fat-Rick and Regular-Rick (before Regular-Rick died) and asked if we could help him find his Morty. We tried, but we never found him. He could be out there somewhere... Our whole deal is finding Mortys without Ricks, so it's possible we'll run into him one day, but there are literally infinite realities, so it's very possible we won't ever find him... if he's even still alive."

"Why'd he run away?" Morty wondered.

Rick shook his head. "Scar-Cheek Rick and his Morty were arguing. They argued a lot, I guess. His Morty was kind of like him, or so I've been told. Sort of feisty - quick to anger... I never met him, but from what I've been told, he was maybe the most outspoken Morty I've ever heard of existing. They clashed a lot."

"Was it like a physical argument? Did his Morty get hurt?" Morty frowned. Scar-Cheek Rick seemed like he'd be the most likely to punch someone. Morty could picture that if Scar-Cheek Rick's Morty talked back to him and argued with him all the time, maybe Scar-Cheek Rick would have hit him or hurt him in some other way.

"I don't think so, but I wasn't there. I don't think he'd deliberately hurt anyone. Especially not his Morty. Scar-Cheek Rick is a bigger softie than you'd think. He loves his Morty dearly. Been looking for him for two years. We still look for him all the time." Rick explained.

"That's really sad... I hope he finds him." Morty frowned.

"Yeah... It doesn't seem likely to me... But we can hope." Rick shrugged sadly.

Morty snuggled down further into the bed, looking up at Rick with a small pout on his lips. It would make sense that these Ricks would feel compelled to save other Mortys... since they failed to keep their own Mortys safe. Two of them were dead. The other probably was... So now they dedicated their lives to helping other versions of the grandsons they lost.

Morty wondered why they hadn't ever adopted a Morty though. If they cared so much about helping them, why pass them all off onto other Ricks? Ricks they couldn't possibly be sure weren't reckless and abusive...

He didn't want to keep asking... Rick had already told him no... But Morty did really, really want to stay here instead of being placed elsewhere. Regular-Rick 2 was nice. He had all sorts of opportunities not to be, but he was nice. They had found Morty with his hands cuffed together, wearing only underwear, bruised and cut up, with a dislocated arm. Hell, he had passed out immediately, and Rick didn't take advantage at all. None of them did.

If any of them wanted to hurt him, they could have... But they didn't. They helped him instead. Even the other two. Scar-Cheek Rick seemed to get mad easily. He threatened to punch Morty, but he didn't do it. Morty's Rick would have. He wouldn't have made a threat. He'd have just done it. Morty's Rick never sexually abused him, but if he wanted to, he would have... If Fat-Rick or any of the others wanted to, they could have. They didn't. None of them hurt him in any way, even though Morty was frustrating to them and they probably wanted to hit him for it. They didn't.

It had been scary at first. Morty didn't understand what was happening. He was a little jumpy and maybe even violent toward these Ricks... But this one especially remained patient, helped him anyway... asked him if he could help instead of just holding him down and forcing Morty to accept the offer. Regular-Rick 2 was the kind of Rick Morty wished had been his grandfather all along. He looked just like Morty's real grandpa, only he was nice and caring. He was gentle, understanding, patient... Pretty much Morty's real grandpa's polar opposite.

Morty wanted to stay with this Rick. Not a strange one he hadn't met. He realized he didn't know this one that well either, but just knowing that his own Rick was so awful and the rest of the Ricks out there were a gamble... He wanted to stay with the one he knew wouldn't hurt him.

What if his new Rick pretended to be nice just long enough, then took him home and beat him? What if his new Rick made sure Morty knew not to say anything if one of the Ricks from this organization came to check on him... Morty would pretend everything was fine because the new Rick would make sure he knew if he didn't pretend, he'd be hurt worse...

Maybe his new Rick would hold Morty down and hurt him like The Sultan wanted to. Like his guard tried to... He'd tell Morty if he didn't keep quiet about it, Rick would break his arm, or burn him, or choke him to death.

Morty felt tears stinging at his eyes and his lower lip trembled.

"What?" Rick frowned. "Why do you look like you're gonna cry?"

Morty shook his head. "I don't want to go to the Morty Safe Haven..."

"It's safe, Morty... The Ricks who run it are very calm, understanding, gentle... None of them would ever hurt you. They might get frustrated and yell, but they wouldn't ever hurt you. We only employ good Ricks... I know Scar-Cheek Rick can be kind of a bastard, but-"

"I don't want to be adopted by another Rick..." Morty interrupted. "I want to stay here. I want to be with you, and Fat-Rick,and Scar-Cheek Rick. I can help save Mortys. I know what it's like to be a Morty who's scared and lost... I could help. I could talk to them, make them feel more safe... Explain that it'll all be okay. I could help, Rick. I promise. I won't touch the control panel... I'll stay out of the way..."

"Morty..." Rick exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment, then blinking them back open and frowning. "That's a big request..."

"I'll do whatever you want me to! I'll stay out of the way as much as you want, help where you want... I can help cook, clean..." Morty felt his breaths growing shorter, more frantic. He was starting to panic. "Rick, please... I don't want a different Rick to take me... He might be bad..." He whispered.

Rick shook his head. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen, Morty." He frowned.

Morty shook his head. "You can't know for sure... He'll pretend to be nice, take me home, hurt me... tell me not to tell... Then they'll check in and I'll pretend everything's fine..." He whimpered.

"No... You'd tell if everything wasn't fine. Then we'd take you back and try again. If your new Rick hurts you, you tell us." Rick frowned.

"I wouldn't though." Morty whispered.

"Why the fuck not?" Rick stared.

"I'd be too scared." Morty answered, shrinking down slightly. "He'd say not to tell... He'd threaten me... I wouldn't tell..."

Rick stared at Morty silently for a moment. He clearly wasn't sure what to say. Neither was Morty. Ideally, Morty could expect just telling something like that would fix it all, but reality was a lot less certain than a hypothetical situation. If his new Rick hurt him, and threatened to do worse if he told, Morty probably wouldn't tell. He'd be too scared.

Suddenly, the ship rocked like a boat hitting a large wave. Morty gasped and shrunk down.

"God damn it! Fuck!" Rick breathed in a sharp breath and reached down, grabbing Morty's arm when a loud alarm complete with a terrifying flashing light suddenly started going off.

"What is that?" Morty breathed, looking around the room nervously while reaching up with one hand and grabbing Rick's coat. "What's happening?"

"I'll be right back..." Rick stood up.

"Wait!" Morty started to get up too.

"Stay here." Rick ordered, his tone and expression very serious.

Morty swallowed and shrunk back down on the bed. "Rick, what's going on? What's happening?" He whispered.

"We might be getting attacked by a hostile ship." Rick answered very simply, opening the door, walking out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

For a few seconds, Morty couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open at the closed door. Sitting here and waiting seemed like a mistake. What if they needed his help? There were only three Ricks on this ship. It wasn't like they had a full army to fight back with. Maybe they'd need Morty to do something...

Or maybe he'd just be in their way. Maybe he was exaggerating his helpfulness in his mind. Maybe they didn't need him. Morty trying to help might mean everything would just be more difficult for the Ricks. Maybe they just needed him to stay out of their way.

Swallowing, Morty stood up and approached the door, leaning his ear against it and listening. He heard the Ricks out there yelling back and forth... mostly stuff he didn't understand about controls, lasers, navigation, something about a Ubix-405 fighter ship...

Morty gasped softly, stepping back and staring at the door. Ubix-405... That was the name of the planet Rick had left him on... They were coming to take him back... or maybe to just kill him for being difficult.

Morty felt tears in his eyes as he looked around the room. There wasn't even anywhere good to hide in here. What if the Ubix-405 people got onto the ship? They were going to look for him, and when they found him, they'd hurt him, or kill him, or worse... take him back to The Sultan. He probably wouldn't settle for just four days now. Now he was probably really angry. He'd demand to keep Morty forever, and his Rick would let him. These Ricks might not, but if the Ubixians killed them, that detail wouldn't matter.

There was nowhere he could go, just like when he tried to escape the Ricks earlier... The ship wasn't that big. There were halls and different rooms, but that was it. He couldn't stay hidden because there were only so many places they'd have to look before they were guaranteed to find him.

Stepping back up to the door, Morty pulled it open a few inches, looking outside into the hall in time to see Scar-Cheek Rick running by. The man seemed to notice the door was slightly open, because he immediately stopped and turned toward Morty.

"Morty, you gotta stay put." Scar-Cheek Rick ordered.

Morty swallowed and stared with wide eyes up at the man.

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled, pushing the door open further and grabbing Morty's wrist.

Morty gasped and shrunk down as Rick started pulling him out into the hallway. "I'm sorry! I wasn't gonna-" He started.

"Shhh." Scar-Cheek Rick interrupted him, dragging him down the hall. "The Morty rooms don't lock. I'm putting you in my room so you can lock yourself in. They probably won't board the ship. We're going to try to destroy their ship before they get that close... but just in case... Only condition is you've gotta unlock the door and come out when I say. Alright?" He stared down at Morty with a frown.

Morty quickly nodded.

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled a frustrated breath, then shoved Morty into a bedroom. "Lock it behind me. Stay in here. Stay quiet. We'll fuckin' deal with this."

Morty nodded again, breathing out a shaking breath when Scar-Cheek Rick closed the door and walked away. He quickly reached up and locked the door, then moved into a corner, slid his back down the wall, and stared nervously at the closed door.

Just because it was locked didn't mean no one could get in.

xxxxxx


	11. Chapter 11

xxxxxx

Chapter 11

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Morty squeezed his eyes shut and curled himself into a tiny, defensive ball with his hands covering his face as he could do nothing but cower down in the corner of the room, hiding while the Ricks tried their best to fight off the Ubixian ship.

Morty didn't know a thing about how much of a problem this ship might pose. Was it huge, tiny? Were their two or three Ubixians on board? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? He had no clue. Maybe there wouldn't even be anyone trying to steal him and take him back. Maybe these guys would just shoot at the ship, destroy it, and kill Morty and the three Ricks all in one instant.

That would be awful, painful for a second... but maybe that was the best case scenario. It would be better to die quickly than to be taken back to The Sultan and to be trapped there for the rest of his life. The Sultan probably wouldn't even try to be gentle now... It would be way more than inappropriate touches or uncomfortable, unwelcome sexual advances. It would probably be deliberately painful. Maybe he'd even kill Morty when he was done. The horrible, predatory man was probably so fucking mad now... So angry that Morty ran and that the Ricks killed two of his guards.

He could feel the ship moving erratically as he remained on the floor in the corner, covering his eyes with his hands as though it would make a difference. He figured Scar-Cheek Rick, who dealt with the navigation, was probably trying to avoid allowing the ship to be hit by lasers or bullets or whatever the Ubixian ship was attacking with. Unless the Ubixians were already on board and were trying to drive the ship themselves, without knowledge of Rick's navigation controls... Or maybe no one was driving it and it was just getting hit with bullets or lasers or something.

The ship rocked in such a way that it reminded Morty of being on a boat in rough waters. It was kind of making him feel sick. He heard sounds outside, maybe lasers being shot, feet running down the hall, voices muffled by the walls. Things creaked and shattered. The lights in the room flickered.

Letting out a tiny shaking noise, Morty shrunk down even smaller. He didn't want to die. He didn't want the Ricks to die. He felt like this was kind of his fault. The Ricks were trying to save him from these people, and now they were all going to die because of it. Morty wondered if it would be noble to just surrender - give himself up if they promised to leave the three Ricks alone. This was Morty's battle. Not theirs. Although it wasn't Morty's fault he got wrapped up in this and he knew that, it was still his problem, and it wasn't fair to get the Ricks killed fighting his fight.

These Ricks dedicated their lives to helping Mortys. They couldn't help anyone else if they were dead. So many Mortys who needed them, Mortys just like him, would be doomed to suffer forever all because this Morty was too scared to fight his own battles.

Morty breathed out a small breath and looked out between his fingers when he heard a weird noise he could only describe as shimmery. A blue-ish, sparkly light filled the room, and then two beings he recognized as Ubixians appeared in front of him.

Gasping a breathless whimper, Morty shrunk further back against the wall. How the hell did they get in here? Was the blue light some sort of portal? How did they know he was here? Morty brought his hands down toward his mouth as he stared, unable to bring himself to speak.

"Is this him?" One of the men said to the other. He was really tall, really muscular. He could probably kill Morty with one hand if he wanted to.

"Yep. I think so. Get him and let's go." The other one, who was even taller than the first answered. Morty was pretty sure he hadn't seen either of these guys before. They were clearly the same race as the knights and the guards and the Sultan, but they were different men. They certainly knew who he was...

Morty shrunk back and tried to slap the guy's hand away as the shorter of the men reached down and grabbed at the front of Morty's shirt. "No! Let me go! Please!" Morty sobbed. His struggles were completely useless. The man didn't even seem to notice.

"They've shot down our ship, Grambaar." The taller one noted. "I'm calling the mothership to come pick us up."

The shorter soldier, Grambaar apparently, hauled Morty up roughly, grabbing his upper arms in hard, bruising hands. "The Sultan is going to hurt you so fucking bad." He growled. "We had a lot of good men on that ship..."

Morty whimpered a shaking sob. He didn't know if he should fight back, yell for one of the Ricks... or just let them take him. If he got the Ricks involved, he might just get them killed.

"They'll be here in fourteen point eight minutes." The taller soldier noted. "When they arrive, we'll just teleport directly onto the ship, blow this one up, then head back."

"You can't!" Morty breathed, feeling his eyes widen and his breaths increase in speed. "Don't blow up the ship... Please... Just take me... Leave the Ricks alone. They didn't do anything wrong..."

"They took you. You belong to us. That's stealing." Grambaar smirked, spinning Morty around so that he faced away from him, grabbing each of his upper arms in one of his huge hands. "You're coming with us. Your friends are gonna die... If you don't like it, don't run off next time. All of this could have been avoided. If you hadn't made a scene and run away, you'd probably be sleeping peacefully in The Sultan's quarters right now."

Morty swallowed, feeling anxiety raising in his chest. Sleeping in The Sultan's quarters... like, with The Sultan in the same bed? Morty sucked in a shaking breath, then closed his eyes and whimpered. "I don't want to go back... Please..." He whispered. "I d-don't belong to him... I don't want him to t-touch me..."

Grambaar laughed. "Well, too bad. He is gonna touch you. He's gonna do whatever he wants, and it's probably going to be pretty rough at this point. You know this wasn't ever supposed to be painful. He wasn't trying to punish you. He just wanted to have a bit of fun. Then you made everything difficult. Now he's mad."

Morty shrunk down and choked out a small sob. "I was scared... I didn't mean to get anyone killed. I just didn't want to be there. I didn't want him to do anything to me... A-and the other guy did too. The guard. He tr-tried to do stuff too... I was just scared..."

The taller guy exhaled tiredly, looking around the room as though he was incredibly bored. "We've got about thirteen and half minutes..."

"I know what we could do with thirteen and a half minutes." Grambaar smirked.

The taller Ubixian looked back toward Grambaar with a frown.

Grambaar laughed and shoved Morty down onto Scar-Cheek Rick's bed. "Why don't we give him a taste of what The Sultan's gonna do to him?" He suggested. "Thirteen and a half minutes is more than enough for me." He laughed. "I'll break him in. Then you can go."

Morty winced as he landed, struggling to get back up. Grambaar held him down firmly. "Please don't!" He gasped. Why was everyone on this planet like this?! "Let me go! Please!" He sobbed.

"Uggh. You know we don't have to do that every time someone crosses us. That's The Sultan's thing, but we don't have to do it too. He'd probably prefer that you didn't, really, since he hasn't had a go at him yet." The other soldier noted. "I don't even like it."

"Well, I do." Grambaar laughed, pushing Morty down harder when the boy tried to stand back up again. "We do a lot of work for The Sultan and hardly ever get any of the benefits. We risked our lives coming to get this boy back. Most of our comrades died for this. I think I'm owed a bit of a reward."

"No! Please don't... Please... Get off of me!" Morty whimpered. "Please!"

"You've been spending way too much time with The Sultan, Grambaar. You can do it if you want, but I'll pass." The taller solider rolled his eyes and looked away. "Don't damage him too bad. He's so tiny, and I doubt The Sultan's going to want him handed over all torn up and raw."

"I'll just use my fingers. Maybe just one. He is really small, and my fingers are kinda thick." Grambaar shrugged, holding Morty down with a large hand over his back and reaching toward the shorts Rick had lent to him. "The Sultan never even has to know I did anything."

"No!" Morty gasped, grabbing at the shorts with his own two hands and holding onto them in tight, desperate fists. "Please don't! Don't touch me! Rick! Help me!" He screamed through shaking sobs.

"I'll just shoot them if they come in here." The Ubixian warned, pressing his hand down harder against Morty's back and pulling at the shorts.

Morty choked out a shaking sob and grabbed the waist of his shorts tighter. The weight of this man's hand holding him down was so heavy. He kind of felt like his breaths were being restricted, but maybe it was just his state of panic.

"W-why are you doing this?" Morty sobbed. What was wrong with all of these people? Why was everyone from The Sultan's planet so fucking awful? Why would they want to do this to him? What the hell could they possibly get out of it other than hurting and humiliating him? "I d-didn't do anything to you! W-why do y-you want to hurt me!?"

"I don't have anything against you, kid." Grambaar laughed. "I just don't get to do this much... Working for The Sultan, he always gets first dibs. I never get to have any fun..."

"Please!" Morty sobbed. "Y-you... You can't do this! I don't want to! On m-my planet y-you're not allowed... y-you have to ask c-consent! I d-don't agree to this... Please! I don't want to do this!"

"Shhh... Calm down. You'll like it." Morty's attacker whispered. Grambaar pulled at Morty's pants violently, easily yanking them out of Morty's hands and down past the boy's knees as Morty tried to reach down to reclaim them. "You'll enjoy this more than I will. I promise. Just close your eyes, relax, take some deep breaths. You're gonna love it."

"Please, no!" Morty sobbed, pressing his hands against the mattress and trying to crawl away. His attacker held him down so firmly. He couldn't budge. "Let me go! Please! Please don't hurt me! I don't wanna do this! Please!"

"Shhh..." Grambaar whispered. "It's just gonna be one finger." He laughed. "It'll go in pretty easy compared to what's coming, but it'll help loosen you up for the future. You'll thank me later when The Sultan gets ahold of you. I doubt he's gonna play nice at this point, so you won't want to go into this a virgin." He laughed.

Morty continued crying breathless, shaking sobs as his attacker grabbed his upper arms and dragged him up to his knees, then pressed a hand on the back of Morty's head so that he was bent over and grabbed at the waistband of Morty's underwear.

Morty whimpered a muffled sob as he felt the man's hand pawing toward his mouth. At first he thought the guy was trying to keep him quiet, until he noticed he was trying to shove his finger into Morty's mouth.

"W-what are you-" Morty started, but was cut off when the man forced his finger past Morty's lips, almost making him throw up as he shoved it back over Morty's tongue. The finger was so long.

Morty choked painfully as the Ubixian slid his finger back out of Morty's mouth and tugged down the boy's underwear with his other hand, leaving it mid-way down his thighs.

"Please!" Morty sobbed, struggling to crawl away as his attacker held him down painfully, spreading his cheeks with his hand and prodding embarrassingly with his finger, which was now wet with Morty's spit.

"Shhh. Relax." His attacker breathed, slowly pressing down with his finger, forcing it through Morty's resisting muscles. "It'll go in easy if you relax."

Morty groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't exactly painful... but if felt really wrong, really awkward, very close to what he'd describe as pain - just very uncomfortable and embarrassing. "Stop!" He gasped trough shaky, breathless tears. "Please don't! Please!"

"Shhh." The Ubixian soldier whispered again, pressing Morty's head down even more as he slowly eased his finger further, rotating and wiggling it slightly as Morty's body was so determined to keep it out. "Relax, kiddo. Breathe." His attacker advised.

"No!" Morty choked out, unable to make his voice very loud at this point. He was so out of breath. "P-please..." He whimpered.

Suddenly, Morty heard the sound of a door knob rattling. He gasped and tried to turn his head toward the door. Just as he was ready to scream for help again, Grambaar clamped a hand harshly over Morty's mouth, and forced his finger deeper in the same instance.

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and moaned in discomfort.

"Morty?" Scar-Cheek Rick's voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Kill him if he comes in here." Grambaar ordered his friend in a low voice, shoving his finger further and further.

Morty let out a tiny, muffled sob. He didn't want Scar-Cheek Rick to die... especially not because of him. Scar-Cheek Rick was kind of scary, but he had helped Morty when his own Rick wouldn't. He was a good person.

"Morty! I said to unlock the fucking door when I told you!" Scar-Cheek Rick growled. "It's fuckin' me, you dumbass. You need to come out, now! We blew up the ship but there were ten heat signatures inside and Regular-Rick 2 is only registering eight bodies. We gotta search the ship, and I want you with us. Open the damn door."

Morty held his breath. He had to warn the Ricks that their enemies were still right here, that they'd be killed if they weren't careful, but a huge hand was still pressed firmly over his mouth, keeping him from calling out.

Tears streamed silently down Morty's cheeks as his attacker pushed his finger the rest of the way in, held it there for a moment, then pulled it back out, only to shove it quickly right back.

Morty continued crying rather silent, muffled sobs as he felt his attacker's finger sliding quickly in and out. It felt so awkward and was so entirely humiliating. Morty's heart was racing. He felt like he might die, or at the very least pass out as his breaths became quicker and far more shaky.

He couldn't scream or even beg, so he settled on a shaky, muffled moaning noise as he grabbed and pulled uselessly at his attacker's arm, trying to get the hand off of his face so he could call out to Rick.

"There you go..." Grambaar breathed in a low voice. "Keep breathing, kiddo. You're doing great. I told you you'd like it..."

"Morty, god damn it!" Scar-Cheek Rick knocked again, louder this time. "Open the fucking door! Now! It's me, you little shit! I thought we were past this!"

Morty sobbed softly. He knew he needed to act, and soon. Unless he wanted all three of the Ricks to die, he couldn't let the Ubixians take him. They said they'd blow up the whole ship after. Morty couldn't let that happen. As suddenly as he could, Morty jerked his head back, finally freeing up his mouth to scream for a few precious seconds. "Rick they're in h-"

He was cut off abruptly when Grambaar slammed his hand back down over the bottom half of Morty's face, lifting Morty up off the bed and pulling him back hard against his chest, squeezing an arm tight around his chest.

Morty whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. His captor was holding him so tight. It actually hurt. He could barely breathe. He choked a breathless cough as he heard the sound of a laser and then of the door swinging open.

He heard shouting, more lasers, and then felt Grambaar let go of him so that he fell down onto the floor. Morty shakily pulled his underwear back up, but couldn't reach his pants at the moment. He kept his eyes closed, brought his arms up to cover his head, and shrunk down, sobbing terrified cries until he felt a hand on his arm.

"No!" Morty screamed a shaky sob as he swatted his hands blindly at whoever was grabbing him. "Don't touch me!" He begged.

"Morty, it's me." Scar-Cheek Rick grabbed him by his upper arm and pulled him to his feet. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

Morty shook his head and sobbed, throwing his arms around Rick's waist and burying his face in the man's chest. He was relieved that Rick found him, that he got the Ubixian soldiers away from him... but they still weren't safe. More were coming. Morty was sobbing so hard right now though that he wasn't sure he could communicate that to Rick just yet.

"Morty, you okay?" Rick breathed.

Morty couldn't manage to speak. His crying was so frantic, so breathless. He wanted to say so much, but just couldn't manage. He shook his head, trying to answer 'no' that they weren't okay. They were all going to die.

"Take a breath, kid..." Scar-Cheek Rick sounded like he was frowning as he rubbed a hand lightly up and down over Morty's back. "They're gone. You're okay... Calm down."

Morty shook his head. He wasn't okay. None of them were. "I'm n-" He started, cutting himself off with a shaking breath. "Th-they c-called their m-mothership. It's going to come... Th-they're g-gonna kill us!" Morty cried. "They're g-gonna kill you!"

"They're not gonna fucking kill us." Scar-Cheek Rick breathed, grabbing at Morty's arms and gently trying to pull him away from him. "Did they hurt you?"

"I don't know..." Morty sobbed, clinging to Rick even tighter and burying his face in the man's coat. "H-he said he called th-the mothership... Th-they'll be here in fourteen minutes, b-but that was a few minutes ago. It'll be sooner... We're gonna die... Y-you guys will at least... They'll take me back... I don't wanna go back, Rick... Please don't let them!"

"You're not going back with them." Rick promised. Morty suddenly noticed Scar-Cheek Rick was kind of hugging him back, holding one hand over Morty's back and the other against the back of his head.

Morty felt himself shivering as he pulled back slightly, staring up at Rick with confusion. He thought this version of his grandfather didn't really like him... The comforting hug was a bit confusing thanks to that detail. Morty's original Rick didn't love him, and didn't really pretend to. He never hugged Morty when the boy was hurt or scared, not even when Morty hugged him - and Morty did hug his Rick. The man was so cold and un-loving, but Morty tried so hard to love him anyway. He couldn't say he really knew what it felt like for a Rick to love him back.

"Are you okay?" Rick spoke in slow words as he looked Morty up and down. He grimaced slightly as he must have noticed Morty's shorts had been pulled down. Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled, reached down and pulled Morty's shorts back up.

Still shaking, Morty looked up at him through his tears. His Rick certainly didn't ever ask if he was okay either... Not unless he just needed to use Morty for something and wanted to keep him alive for selfish reasons. Did Scar-Cheek Rick actually care that he was hurt? Maybe Morty's first impression of him had been wrong. Morty wanted to desperately for these Ricks to legitimately care about him, to let him stay with them, to be the Rick he never had but always wanted.

"Morty..." Rick said again. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I d-don't know..." Morty looked down at himself. He was shaking. His chest and head felt kind of warm and numb, like he was close to passing out. "Th-they're sending more people, Rick... W-what do we do?" His voice shook with unshed tears.

"Alright." Rick nodded with a tired exhale, then grabbed Morty's lower-arm near his wrist, dragging him toward the bedroom's door. Morty looked back into the room, finding the two Ubixian soldiers' bodies were gone.

"Wh-" Morty breathed, sniffing back shaking tears as Rick dragged him down the hallway. He could feel himself shaking as his breaths trembled. He was very unsure if Scar-Cheek Rick was angry with him now. He didn't understand what was going on. "I d-didn't mean for them to find me... I didn't know they would follow me... I'm sorry..."

"Shhh. Just come on. We'll fix this." Scar-Cheek Rick mumbled, still pulling Morty along down the hallway. "God damn, fuckin' pervert rape planet. Jesus fucking Christ." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled as he pulled Morty toward the control panel, punched in a code, and pressed a large red button.

Morty suddenly felt a little dizzy. He closed his eyes and felt like he was falling forward, but Scar-Cheek Rick grabbed his arms, carefully lowering him down to the floor.

"You alright?" Scar-Cheek Rick asked, squatting down in front of him.

Morty shook his head. He felt like he'd just gone on the most intense roller coaster ever. He felt dizzy, disoriented, a little nauseous... so suddenly. "Th-they said they called their mothership, th-that they'd be here in f-fourteen minutes... I f-feel like I'm g-gonna throw up..." Morty breathed shakily.

"Oh god... Don't do that." Scar-Cheek Rick grimaced, placing a hand on Morty's cheek. "Look at me. Take a big, deep breath."

Morty looked up and did as he was ordered, breathing in a deep breath that shook as he stared nervously into Rick's eyes. "W-where did they go? T-the ones in the bedroom?"

"I shot them. With a laser. They dissolved. They're fuckin' dead." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "I just warped us to another dimension. That's probably why you're feeling disoriented... You're not used to it. Took a lot of our energy source, so we can't fuckin' keep doing that... Not with the whole ship... But their little bitch mothership won't find us now. We'll get closer to where the Morty Safe Haven is and warp back. There's no way they knew where we were going, so you'll be safe."

"A-are you sure?" Morty looked nervously around himself. "A-are there more of them on this ship?"

"There were ten. We killed eight... Just got the last two. They're gone. Did they hurt you, Morty? Tell me the truth." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned down at him.

"I d-don't think so. I don't think I'm hurt." Morty breathed, looking down at himself to be sure. The one guy had grabbed him so hard, squeezed him so tight against his chest. Morty could hardly breathe. He had felt like his ribs were going to snap in half... But they didn't. It was only for a few seconds, and he was okay now.

"Did he..." Rick frowned, cutting himself off from actually asking. Morty was sure the man had seen everything when he first managed to get into the room. He had to have seen that Morty's pants and underwear were pulled down. He probably suspected the truth, or worse. "Morty..." Rick exhaled, blinking for a long few seconds. "Did he rape you?"

"N-no... I don't know..." Morty breathed. Was that rape? It didn't last long... It was a finger. It didn't really hurt - not much. Not enough that he thought he was injured. He couldn't feel any pain now. It was kind of like it didn't even happen.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Rick glared. "Did he? Morty... Did he rape you? You're not in trouble. It's not your fault... I just need to know if you're alright... Did he?"

"Um... Not exactly... H-he didn't. J-just... He used his finger... and like... He held me down and s-stuck it u-up m-my butt..." Morty whispered, looking down and feeling anxious and embarrassed to admit it. His heart pounded in his chest just saying it, remembering it, speaking of it out loud. Maybe he shouldn't have told Rick. Maybe this was something that should have remained in his head and only in his head, so he could pretend it hadn't really happened and try to forget about it. He wasn't hurt. Rick didn't really have to know...

He could see Rick's shoulders slump as the man looked what he could only describe as disappointed.

"I-I'm okay though." Morty breathed, staring with wide eyes at Rick, feeling even more nervous now that he saw how upset this news seemed to make the man. "H-he just did it for a few seconds, a-and it wasn't that bad, I guess... It didn't hurt that bad... It's not a big deal..."

Rick shook his head. "Morty, yes it is... That's a big deal."

Morty swallowed and looked down. His heart was still pounding in his chest. For some reason Rick's reaction to this mattered to him. He didn't want the man to be upset. He didn't want Rick to think he was weak or dumb, or making a big deal out of something small. He didn't want these Ricks to know that happened to him, that he let someone do that to him. He didn't want them to think he was gross...

His original Rick didn't seem to think something like that was a big deal. He was even angry at Morty for not freely allowing that and worse in exchange for material goods. So why did this Rick seem so disappointed when Morty told him what happened? Why did he care? It wasn't even the worst thing that could have happened. It was fucking scary, uncomfortable, embarrassing... But now that Morty was saying it out loud, he felt dumb. He cried so hard, felt like he was going to pass out from his frantic breaths... All because one finger? It didn't really hurt. It was one finger.

"That should have never happened to you, Morty, and I'm so fucking sorry it did..." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "I shouldn't have left you by yourself. I thought you'd be safe in there with the door locked..."

Morty bit his lower lip. "I-it's okay..." He whispered.

"No, it's not." Scar-Cheek Rick closed is eyes for a few seconds and exhaled.

"It is, Rick... I shouldn't have cried so much... I know it wasn't a big deal... It was j-just embarrassing is all... I d-don't know why someone would want to do that to someone else..." Morty forced a small laugh. It did sound ridiculous to him now that he had said it out loud. The guy held him down and stuck his finger up Morty's butt. Why would he want to do that? It was weird and gross... He seriously couldn't understand why someone would want to do that to him. He felt stupid for crying about it.

Morty stared back at Rick, who was looking increasingly annoyed, but hadn't said anything else.

"I didn't want him to..." Morty went on, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Was Rick going to think Morty was gross, dumb, weird? That he let this happen? "I mean, I know it's not a big deal, b-but I d-didn't want to. It wasn't like I j-just let him. He made me... And I know it was weird and like really gross..."

Rick still just stared, so Morty chose to fill the silence again. He forced a breathless laugh, trying to see this as something other than the horrifying, humiliating thing that it was. Rick probably thought Morty was ridiculous for shaking and crying over a little finger... and to even allow himself to be put into the position where someone could force a finger up his butt was embarrassing... Right?

"It was dumb, really..." Morty started. "I c-can't believe I cried so much... It's k-kinda funny-"

"Damn it, Morty!" Scar-Cheek Rick suddenly growled. "Stop it."

Morty gasped and shrunk down.

"Don't pretend you thought that was funny... You don't have to talk to me about it. You never have to acknowledge it again if you don't want to. You don't have to fill the silence with dumb bullshit. You can just not say anything if that's what you have to do. But don't you dare do that to yourself." Rick glared. "You had every right to be scared, to cry... to panic. What they did was fucked up. It's okay that you were scared, that you cried, that you feel fucked up and confused over it. You don't have to pretend it wasn't a big deal."

Morty brought his fingertips up toward his mouth. He bit down on his thumb nail as he stared nervously toward Rick.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I'm fucking yelling." Rick lowered his voice. "I'm not trying to scare you, or make you feel ashamed. I just don't want you telling yourself what happened was okay, because it wasn't. It's not your fault it happened. It's okay that you were upset by it. Alright? And I'm just fucking sorry I let it happen. I meant to keep you safe by putting you in there..." Rick frowned.

"It's alright." Morty breathed, still chewing on his fingernail.

"No it's not. That shouldn't have happened." Scar-Cheek Rick persisted. "We should have protected you."

"Y-you did..." Morty frowned. "You came in and saved me. It's not your fault they followed us."

Rick shook his head. "We should have seen this coming. Morty, I'm so sorry they hurt you... I didn't count on them having that kind of technology... They can teleport short distances I guess... I didn't know that. Fat-Rick's supposed to gather that kind of information... Didn't fuckin' bother, I guess. Too busy cooking."

Morty swallowed, not wanting to join Scar-Cheek Rick in bashing his associate.

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled and stood, reaching his hands down to help Morty up. Morty grabbed his hands and let the man pull him to his feet.

"We're going to get you somewhere safe, Morty... To a good Rick who can take care of you." Scar-Cheek Rick promised. "You've had a fucked up life, and it's still kinda fucked up... But it won't always be. You'll forget these gross perverts ever existed before long. You and your new Rick will go all over hell together. He'll protect you from shit like that."

Morty swallowed and looked down. "You guys are good Ricks... You can take care of me." He whispered.

"Clearly not... We've had you for for like eight hours and we already almost got you killed... Got you fucking molested. Almost got you fucking gang-raped at the very least. You need to be somewhere safer." Rick frowned.

Morty frowned too. "That wasn't your fault... C-can I stay with you tonight at least? Like, j-just sleep in the same room? I-" Morty hesitated. "I can sleep on the floor even. I don't need a bed. I just... I don't wanna be alone right now..."

Scar-Cheek Rick closed his eyes and exhaled, shaking his head slightly. "Thank fucking god..." He breathed when he opened his eyes. "Regular-Rick 2! There you are... Morty needs a babysitter."

Morty felt his shoulders slump. Maybe Scar-Cheek Rick just really didn't like him. Maybe he thought Morty was disgusting now. Morty felt disgusting. He felt weak, stupid, and disgusting.

"I found the Ubixian soldiers. They had him." He nodded down toward Morty. "I killed them. Hes not injured in a way that requires medical care. He's scared to sleep in a room by himself though. I need to watch the monitor, so-"

"I have to fix the windows. Two of them are cracked and if they fully break we're all fuckin' dead." Regular-Rick 2 cut him off in a sort of breathless voice. "Fat-Rick's helping me... Morty, you're just gonna have to go to your own room. You can't come with me this time. It's outside, requires a suit... I don't have one in your size. You'll be okay... I don't mean to be dismissive, but this is an emergency... I'm sorry."

Morty felt his lower lip trembling as he stared at Regular-Rick 2 and blinked back tears. He was scared to go sleep in a room by himself. What if more Ubixian soldiers teleported onto the ship? Especially now when the Ricks wouldn't expect it... when they were all occupied by something else...

Morty breathed in and out a shaky breath, trying to keep himself from crying. What if the next Ubixian soldier did something even worse? What if they really hurt him, so that he was bleeding, in need of a doctor. What if they killed him? Or took him back to The Sultan and made him stay there forever, being abused every single day until he died of old age?

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled tiredly, grabbing Morty's arm and dragging him back toward the room Regular-Rick 2 had set him up in earlier.

"I could just watch you... W-whatever you're working on... I'll j-just sit there and watch... I'll be quiet. I won't say or do anything... I just wanna be close to someone... I'm scared..." Morty whimpered.

"Okay." Scar-Cheek Rick gave in surprisingly easily.

"R-really?" Morty breathed, blinking his eyes and staring up at Rick.

"Yup." He nodded, walking into Morty's room, leaving Morty out in the hallway.

Morty frowned as he watched from the doorway. "W-what are you doing?" He whispered.

"Getting you a pillow and blanket. You're fucking exhausted. You can sleep on the floor next to me while I watch the monitor." Scar-Cheek Rick offered.

Morty felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched Scar-Cheek Rick pull a pillow and blanket off of his bed. He followed the man down the hall and watched him toss the pillow to the floor, then carefully place the blanket next to it.

He couldn't be totally sure... and didn't want to be naive... but he felt almost certain this is what care looked like. These Ricks cared... Maybe they didn't even want to admit that they cared, but they did. They wanted him to be safe, wanted him to be comfortable and unafraid... They could have made him stay in his room on his own. They could have even just said if he wanted to stay near Rick he'd have to sit against the wall and be tired...

But they didn't do that. Slowly, each of these Ricks were proving they were good people. Morty just wished they cared enough to let him stay...

xxxxxx


	12. Chapter 12

xxxxxx

Chapter 12

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Scar-Cheek Rick frowned as he stole a quick glance in Morty's direction, trying to be sly about it. He didn't want the kid getting the wrong impression. He didn't want Morty to know Rick was allowing him to sleep on the floor nearby not only because Morty was scared, but because Rick was too...

He didn't like to allow himself to show outwardly that he gave a shit about the individual Mortys that they collected, but every single one of them reminded him of his own grandson in some way or another. His Morty was pretty assertive and argumentative... This one wasn't... but he was a fighter, in a way... When he got scared of the various Ricks on this ship, he didn't just squeeze his eyes shut and hope for the best. He fought back... He screamed and kicked and hit... Rick imagined that's what his Morty would do in a situation like this.

His Morty was probably gone forever... This Morty wasn't. Cruel, dangerous people were after him, and Rick just wanted to keep him close. He didn't keep his own Morty close, and now he wasn't going to ever see him again.

Rick looked back up at the monitor. There were no other ships nearby, but that could change literally in the blink of an eye. Ricks and some other beings out in the world had access to portal technology... They could hop dimensions, jump around within a dimension... That's why it was so important to keep a close watch on the monitor.

This Morty's Rick was still out there, and might want him back. Scar-Cheek Rick wasn't going to allow that. He'd fucking kill the man first. The guy sold his grandson to sexual predators. There was no fucking way he was getting the kid back. Not on his watch.

"That was really scary back there." Morty whispered in a low, exhausted voice.

Rick glared toward him, feeling angry at the entire situation. He was the last person to claim to be patient... He didn't always say or do the right thing, but Mortys were precious... How the fuck could that other Rick let his Morty get hurt like that? How could he purposefully leave the kid with those fucking bastards?

Scar-Cheek Rick hadn't spent much time with this kid. Morty hadn't told him much of his story, but he, Regular-Rick 2, and Fat-Rick talked to each other enough for all three of them to have a pretty clear picture of this Morty's situation. Scar-Cheek Rick knew what Morty had told the others - mostly Regular-Rick 2, who seemed to be his favorite of them.

Regular-Rick 2 was a favorite among a lot of the Mortys they rescued, because Scar-Cheek Rick was more intimidating - in appearance and demeanor, and because Fat-Rick was bigger, and thus more scary to Mortys who were typically scared of anything and everything. Regular-Rick 2 also happened to look the most like a lot of the Mortys Ricks, which would have actually been points against him in this case... but Morty still seemed to favor the man. He sure was being clingy to Scar-Cheek Rick now though.

"I know it wasn't funny... I didn't really think that. I just don't know how to feel... I know it wasn't funny, and that it was kind of a big deal what he did..." Morty whispered. "I didn't want you to think I was dumb, or gross for letting it happen."

Rick shook his head. "You're not gross. You didn't let it happen."

Morty swallowed and stared back at Rick with wide eyes.

"I don't think you're gross, Morty. I don't think you're dumb - well, I mean you kind of are, but not about this. Nothing they did to you was your fault. You're a little kid. They're giant fuckin' freaks. They forced this on you. They're gross. You're not." Rick promised.

Morty let out a small, breathless laugh.

"I mean it. Don't blame yourself for any of this." Scar-Cheek Rick went on.

"I was scared they were gonna kill you guys... I told them to just take me and leave you alone... B-but I'm glad they didn't... I said to... I wanted to do the right thing so you wouldn't die just because of me, but I was really scared." Morty went on. "I kind of thought they were gonna take me either way, but I could at least hope you wouldn't have to die too."

Rick swallowed. That was heartbreaking. Morty knew what these people would do to him, and he still tried to offer himself up for the sake of the Ricks on this ship. "Don't try to be a hero, Morty... If they took you, we'd have just come after you." Scar-Cheek Rick informed him. "If anyone ever tries to hurt you, you gotta scream and fight. Yell for help. If one of us is near and we hear you, we'll do whatever we can."

"Thanks for coming in and saving me." Morty added. "I was so scared... W-when he put his finger... It kinda hurt. It felt weird. I didn't want him to... I kept telling him not to. I was so embarrassed. I hated it, Rick. I was really scared."

"I know. You're okay now. He can't do that again. He's gone, and we'll keep the rest of those fuckin' creeps away too. Don't worry about them... You're safe now." Scar-Cheek Rick cut him off. He really didn't want to discuss what happened, what almost happened. What the Ubixian soldier managed to do was awful, but it could have been even worse. They could have both taken a turn, raped him with more than their fingers, really, really hurt him.

"W-what if they keep coming after me?" Morty whispered.

Rick shook his head. "We'll keep killing them." He answered plainly, staring back at the monitor. "Try to get some sleep. We'll be at the Morty Safe Haven in five or six hours. I know you're fucking exhausted, so try to go to sleep, Morty."

"I m-might be too nervous to sleep." Morty squeaked.

Rick frowned and looked back at the kid, who was shrinking down against his pillow, pulling his blanket up under his chin like a scared little child. Rick stared at him. He unfortunately had a habit of seeing Mortys more as colleagues than kids - not equals, but colleagues still... No one was his equal - not even other Ricks... But Morty was a kid... This Morty, his Morty... Every Morty. They were all tiny, vulnerable, scared little kids.

"Don't be nervous, Morty. We'll make sure you go to a good Rick." Rick promised.

Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout and stared up at Rick. He looked really tired. His eyelids looked heavy, like he was fighting hard against sleep. "If they can't find a good Rick, can I stay with you guys?" He whispered.

Scar-Cheek Rick stared down at him. "Close your eyes, Morty."

Morty did as he was told. Rick could see his hands gripping the blanket near his chin. They were in tight little fists. "If I f-fall asleep... Make sure you don't leave me by m-myself..." He whispered.

Rick shook his head. The poor kid was so scared. "I won't, Morty. We'll watch over you. We all will. No one's getting to you. You're safe."

Morty breathed out a sort of shaky breath, but kept his eyes closed. "I know you say that... b-but more Ubixians could come... M-my Rick could come... a-and you guys are gonna leave me with a stranger Rick..."

Rick exhaled. "I'll tell you what... If there's no other good Ricks out there, we'll take you, Alright? There are good Ricks though. Tons of them. Good is a loaded word... I mean, you think I'm good and I'm a huge asshole."

Morty smiled and laughed softly, but kept his eyes closed.

"So there you go... We're getting a different Rick for you. He's gonna be good... And if he's not... and if the next one's not, and if we just can't find another decent Rick in any dimension... You'll stay with us. Okay?" Scar-Cheek Rick went on. "We'll find you a good one, Morty... But you have us as backup if that makes you feel safer."

"It does." Morty whispered. Rick could see his grip on the blanket loosening as his breaths grew more even. Maybe he was finally falling asleep.

Rick swallowed and stared back at the monitor. Everything was so quiet. The Ubixians must have truly not known where they went. That was good. It had been close to an hour and a half since they attacked... and there was no sign of any more of them. They just needed to stay out of dimension Q-405 for a while. There very likely weren't any more Mortys there anyway, so as long as the Ubixians didn't know how to travel the multiverse, and as long as this Morty's Rick didn't come after him, things would be fine.

Scar-Cheek Rick looked up as Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick made their way down the hall and into the control alcove. "You get the windows fixed?" He asked.

"For now." Regular-Rick 2 answered. "It'll be good until we can replace them. They'll hold, but we do need new ones."

Scar-Cheek Rick frowned as he stared down Fat-Rick. "Why didn't you tell me these people knew how to use portal technology?" He glared. "They fuckin' teleported from their ship to ours. Right into the room I put Morty in."

Fat-Rick frowned. "I didn't know..."

"It's your job to know. We each have specific roles here. I know cooking is like an extra thing you do, but god damn. It should come second. Researching the planets and people we encounter is your number one thing. If you're short on time, just don't cook. Research takes priority." Scar-Cheek Rick went on.

"I did research... They have blocks up for portal-technology within their planet. They can portal out of their planet - as can we... I told you this... There's no documentation that they know how to teleport. I couldn't have found the information because it wasn't out there. It wasn't written anywhere about teleportation." Fat-Rick frowned.

Scar-Cheek Rick glared. "Well, write it down then. They tracked him somehow too. Don't know how they knew, but they went straight into the room he was in."

"They didn't hurt him did they?" Fat-Rick frowned, glancing toward Morty who was now sleeping peacefully on the floor.

"Not significantly, but yes. They had his shorts and underwear pulled down... When I shot the lock off my door and shoved the door open one of them had grabbed him up and was basically using him as a shield, but his pants were down around his knees. I'm not naive enough to claim I wasn't sure what they were doing to him. I know what they were doing as well as you do." Scar-Cheek Rick breathed.

"Did they rape him?" Regular-Rick 2 frowned, glancing over at Morty and then looking back at Scar-Cheek Rick.

Scar-Cheek Rick nodded. "They started to. The one guy used his finger... Morty said it didn't last long and that it wasn't very painful. I don't think he's hurt, but they did manage that much before I ever knew they were in there with him. I didn't know they could use teleportation. I locked the door and assumed he was safe in there."

Fat-Rick shook his head. "It was a hard planet to research. I tried..."

Scar-Cheek Rick glared back at Fat-Rick, feeling increasingly angry, knowing he shouldn't blame the other man, but wanting to blame someone other than himself or the dead Ubixians. "We fuckin' have to know what we're up against. All the time. Every time."

"I know..." Fat-Rick frowned, looking down as though ashamed.

"In his defense, Rick..." Regular-Rick 2 started. "These people do have a lot of blocks up. They're very secretive. It's hard getting information on them. They know we're looking and they hide things. Fat-Rick did do the research... The information just wasn't there. We know now..."

"The whole planet is a bunch of fucking perverts. We should blow up the whole thing." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. He wasn't sure if he was even kidding at this point. From what he could see, everyone on Ubix-405 either practiced or encouraged or blindly allowed child molestation. Three different people there sexually assaulted to tried to sexually assault Morty, and none of the others seemed to care.

"That's a little much..." Regular-Rick 2 frowned. "We don't know that literally the entire planet is full of sexual predators... Just the few we've encountered."

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head. "I don't know that I even fucking care, Rick... The planet might be beyond salvation. If anyone on it happens to not be a fucking rapist, it'll just be too bad for them. Blow up the whole fuckin' planet. Just end it. Then we wont need to know shit about them."

Regular-Rick 2 exhaled and rolled his eyes. "We're not blowing up a whole planet... We killed the ones who were after him. We're in a different dimension now. Let's just get Morty to the Safe Haven. We're almost there... He's safe... We'll get him somewhere better than where he was before. I know this one has been kind of rough... Kind of emotional."

"I'm not emotional. I'm pissed off." Scar-Cheek Rick glared.

"That's an emotion." Fat-Rick smirked.

"Fuck you." Scar-Cheek Rick stared back. "Just go to fucking bed. We'll be there a couple hours after breakfast tomorrow morning. Go to sleep."

Fat-Rick shrugged. "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Whatever." Scar-Cheek Rick stared back at the monitor. He really couldn't bring himself to care.

"Do you want me to take him to his room?" Regular-Rick 2 nodded toward Morty. "I can stay with him if you're tired. I know he didn't want to be left alone."

"No, its fine." Scar-Cheek Rick answered without looking away from the navigation screen. Morty seemed to feel safe and comfortable where he was. Scar-Cheek Rick didn't want to disrupt that.

"Alright. Good night." Regular-Rick 2 spoke in a low voice.

"Night, Rick." Fat-Rick said.

Scar-Cheek Rick looked up once they were gone, glancing back toward Morty, who looked content laying curled up under his blankets on the floor. Regular-Rick 2 was right. They needed to just get him to the Safe Haven and be done with this mess.

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	13. Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

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"How does the portal gun even work?" Morty wondered as he turned it over in his hands. One of the Ricks had left one lying on the table at breakfast, so he took the liberty to take a look at it while the Ricks were busy clearing the dishes off the table. His own Rick had never bothered to explain a lot of these things.

"It fucking doesn't for you." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled, quickly snatching it out of his hand and tucking it back into his lab coat. "This isn't a fucking toy, Morty. I told you not to fuck with things you don't understand." He added, walking out of the room.

Morty exhaled and looked down. Scar-Cheek Rick reminded him of his own Rick in a lot of ways. He didn't ever physically hurt him, but he had that same temper. He had that quick-to-anger quality that made Morty flinch and feel legitimately scared for a moment before he realized that this Rick hadn't ever actually hit him. He wasn't going to. He was quick to anger, but wasn't going to lash out like his Rick did.

Scar-Cheek Rick had shown a level of care for Morty's well-being and emotional state that his Rick never did. He was definitely nothing like Morty's original Rick overall, but those tiny moments where he reacted with anger were still a little scary. They made Morty hold his breath for a moment, shrink down, feel tense... He remembered what came after those moments with his own Rick. His own Rick got angry, then got physical. This one only got angry.

"He's a little protective of his portal gun." Fat-Rick forced a small smile as he handed a stack of dishes to Regular-Rick 2 and sat down next to Morty.

"I wasn't going to break it or anything..." Morty spoke in a small voice.

"I know. His Morty stole his portal gun and ran away... We never did find him." Fat-Rick reminded him. "That's probably why he's on-edge about it."

"Oh yeah..." Morty nodded. He hadn't even considered that, but it actually made a whole lot of sense for Scar-Cheek Rick to be possessive and protective of is portal gun whenever Mortys were concerned.

"I'll let you look at mine though." Fat-Rick offered, taking his own portal gun out of his lab coat. "Just promise never to use it. Traveling through the multiverse isn't something we do for fun. It's not a game or a pastime. We do it sparingly."

"Why?" Morty frowned. "If you can go literally anywhere any time, why not do it all the time? It's so convenient... You could like portal yourself to the bathroom or just visit a random planet and see what's there, and come back right away if you don't like it..."

"I always carefully research places before I go when I can." Fat-Rick started. "And it does take energy with each use. If you use it too much without the elements needed to recharge it, you'll run out of juice and end up stranded somewhere dangerous."

Morty nodded. "That's why you take this ship instead of just portaling everywhere?" He guessed.

"Pretty much." Fat-Rick smiled. "I'll show you how it works though." He handed the gun to Morty and pointed toward the screen. "Each dimension has a number, and each planet has coordinates. There are further coordinates for individual locations within the planet. It took ages to map all of this out, and some planets we don't have mapped out at all. There are literally infinite realities, and planets differ or don't even exist in some of them."

"So there's not an Earth in every dimension?" Morty stared with wide eyes. "Where did it go?"

"Just never existed, or got destroyed." Fat-Rick shrugged. "There's an earth in this dimension though." He nodded toward the gun, then put in some coordinates. "Don't know much about it. I haven't been there. But those are the coordinates."

"What dimension are we in?" Morty frowned.

"G-116." Fat-Rick answered, taking the portal gun back. "You're from Q-405. I'm from 7Y-01. So with the portal gun, you'd aim it in front of you, press this button... I'm not really going to press it. Don't want to waste a charge. But you press it, the portal shows up, and you walk through. It's pretty simple besides figuring out the coordinates in the first place."

Morty nodded, watching as Fat-Rick put the portal gun back down on the table and lean back in his chair. "So did you and your Rick travel around a lot?" He asked.

Morty frowned and shrugged. "Yes, but he wouldn't ever explain where we were going or why... He just dragged me along like he was mad, like I had to be there for some reason but he didn't like that I was there. He got angry if I asked not to come."

"Ricks like traveling with Mortys because the difference in brain waves make it harder to track Ricks." Fat-Rick explained. "Yours cancels his out so anyone looking for him won't get a strong signal."

Morty frowned. "Because our personalities are so different?" He asked.

Fat-Rick smiled slightly, pausing for a moment, then nodding. "Pretty much." He agreed.

"Rick..." Morty spoke, looking down as he thought about what the day had in store for him. They were supposed to be arriving to the Morty Safe Haven soon... The three Ricks would leave him there... with strange Ricks he hadn't met. Then a Rick he didn't know would come and adopt him, take him home and abuse him in some way or another...

"Yeah?" Fat-Rick responded, looking down with a frown to match Morty's.

"Why don't you guys want me to stay here with you?" Morty asked.

Fat-Rick opened his mouth and breathed in a small breath, seemingly at a loss for words for a moment. "It's..." He hesitated. "It's not that we don't want you... We just have a lot of things we do, and don't think this environment is the best for you to stay long-term... We travel so much, don't live in an actual home... Our focus is our work and it wouldn't be fair to you, Morty."

Morty shook his head. "I don't mind... My Rick traveled a lot too. It's okay. At least I know you guys won't hit me or sell me to rapists..."

Fat-Rick laughed softly. "No, we wouldn't sell you... But neither will your new Rick."

"You don't know that." Morty whispered, looking down at his fingers in his lap.

"We wouldn't place you with a Rick who would do anything like that." Fat-Rick promised.

Morty frowned and narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Fat-Rick. "Ricks all want a Morty to travel with, right? Even if they don't even like Mortys... they still want one. Right?"

Fat-Rick nodded. "Yes." He agreed.

"And Ricks are smart, right?" Morty asked.

Fat-Rick laughed. "Well, yeah..."

"So you think a Rick who would hit me and sell me to a rapist wouldn't be capable of pretending to be nice just long enough to get me back to his house?" Morty glared. "You think a Rick who might even be a rapist wouldn't be smart enough to-"

"Morty..." Fat-Rick interrupted. "We won't send you with someone like that. We've already promised you-"

"You can't know!" Morty felt himself getting upset as his voice rose. "How are you gonna know if the perfect, nicest Rick in the world comes asking to adopt me, and he has nothing wrong with him on the surface, and he pretends to be great... Then takes me home and chains me up in the basement or something. How could you know?"

Fat-Rick swallowed. "That's why we check in... Unannounced."

"When? How long until you check in?" Morty stared.

"With newly adopted Mortys, sometimes daily." Fat-Rick answered.

"Oh, great. So I'll just have to be beaten for a day before you come back and check. And he'll warn me to pretend everything's fine." Morty noted. "And I will... I know how Ricks can be... If he tells me he'll do worse if I tell, I probably won't tell."

Fat-Rick shook his head. "You would tell, Morty... But you won't be in a position where you need to. We scan a Rick's history to tell if he's got a pattern of abuse toward others - particularly kids, and even more particularly Mortys..."

"Great." Morty crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "Guess I'll just hope I'm not the first person he beats with a belt or molests, or that he doesn't have some sort of block up so you can't see what he's done."

"We don't just hand Mortys out without paying attention. We have them all cataloged. We check in, sometimes even place cameras so we can see what's going on when the Ricks think no one is watching. We're very careful about this." Fat-Rick promised.

Morty exhaled and closed his eyes. His luck was terrible. If an awful, abusive Rick was going to slip through the cracks, he just knew it was going to be the one who ended up taking him. If something could go wrong in all this, he knew it would.

"We'll get you someplace safe, Morty. Don't worry." Fat-Rick put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Believe it or not, there's more good Ricks out there than bad. Rough around the edges, maybe... but good."

Morty frowned and looked down. He didn't believe that, actually. He kind of felt fairly certain these three Ricks might be the only good ones... and unfortunately, they didn't want him.

"I'm gonna go help Regular-Rick 2 with the dishes." Fat-Rick stood. "Don't worry too much, Morty. I know it's new, and you're nervous, but you're going to be fine."

"Okay." Morty forced a smile, but he didn't really feel okay about this.

As Fat-Rick walked away, Morty noticed the man had left his portal gun on the table. He must have trusted Morty not to take it. Morty opened his mouth, contemplating calling after the man, telling him not to forget it...

He snapped his mouth shut and stared at the gun. He really could take it. If these Ricks wouldn't let him have any control here, he could take control himself. He didn't have to go to the Morty Safe Haven. The opportunity not to go was right here in front of him.

Morty looked back at the portal gun on the table, breathing in and out a calming breath. He could sneak it away and use it to go anywhere if he just knew the coordinates. Then they couldn't put him with a random Rick... He could go back to Earth - to an Earth other than his, where his Rick would never know to look for him. He could go to a police station, tell them he had amnesia and had no idea who he was. He could be adopted by someone nice and start a new life...

Of course, he realized that was a naive wish... He'd probably be adopted by someone mean instead... So maybe he could go to some version of Earth, get a job, get his own apartment, and not rely on anyone but himself.

He looked up and stared toward the kitchen, where Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick were cleaning up. No one was paying attention to him. The portal gun was still right there on the table. He could leave, and they'd never know where he went...

Picking up the portal gun in a shaky hand, Morty stared down at it. The coordinates for this dimension's Earth were already there. It couldn't be that different from his own Earth... except that his Rick wouldn't be there. That was an improvement.

Morty looked back toward the kitchen. They still weren't paying attention. He looked back down at the portal gun. He didn't know any other coordinates. It was either going to be this Earth, somewhere completely random, or going to the Morty Safe Haven to be adopted by a Rick who would pretend to be nice until they were alone.

Biting his lower lip, Morty held the gun up in front of himself, pressing the button to create a portal and holding his breath. He let the breath go as the portal appeared in front of him. It glowed a familiar green and made him feel both anxious and hopeful. He'd either be saving himself, or making everything a million times worse. There was no way to tell until he made his move.

Morty took one last glance back toward the kitchen and walked through the portal...

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	14. Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

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Morty blinked his wide eyes, looking nervously around as soon as he was through the portal and onto Earth G-116. He had no idea what part of Earth he was on, which continent, whether he would be in a place where people lived or out in the middle of nowhere... He just knew going to any version of Earth and attempting to solve his problems himself sounded safer than going with a mysterious, unknown version of his abusive grandfather.

Swallowing, Morty frowned and shrunk down. This didn't look like the Earth he knew, at least, not the part of it where he had been... There were jagged rocks everywhere, tree stumps sticking out of a dry and cracked ground. Maybe he was in the desert... He looked up, blinking a few times. The sky looked normal, blue, with a few clouds. The air seemed to be safe to breathe... But where was he? Where should he even begin? Just start walking, hope he found people soon?

Inhaling and exhaling a shaky breath, Morty looked back down at the portal gun in his hands. He didn't really know how to get back if he wanted to. He didn't know the coordinates to anywhere but here...

He looked back up and scanned the horizon. It looked like there was a forest in the distance. If people lived nearby, they'd probably live near the forest, he guessed. People liked trees. And plant life meant water. People liked water too. It also meant he wasn't in the desert. A whole forest wouldn't grow in the desert.

So he started toward the forest. It seemed like his best bet at this point.

As he walked, Morty gulped. His mouth felt dry already. Maybe he should have brought water. He hadn't counted on showing up on a part of Earth that was so dry with no people around to point him in the right direction.

Somehow he figured he'd show up in the middle of a city, be greeted by lots of people who might take pity on him and give him some money or water at least to help him get started... He was fourteen, and small for his age... Someone would have to be heartless to not offer him a bottle of water and directions to a homeless shelter or police station. But there were no people, not bottled water, no shelters or police...

He looked around at the tree stumps sticking out of the ground. This wasn't a desert... The stumps didn't look like they had been there for years. They didn't look like trees that slowly died due to dehydration. Someone had just cut them all down. It was dry now, but it wasn't a desert. Trees had been here pretty recently.

Morty breathed in a small breath and stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise behind him. It sounded like someone or something running... and some kind of grunting, growling noise. A wild animal perhaps?

"Shit..." Morty breathed as he spun around. His eyes immediately widened. It was a person. Not an animal... Though the person looked a little wild. He was wearing some sort of animal skin around his waist, chains and jagged weapons strapped to his back... He had long, tangled hair, looked rather dirty, and was running full-speed toward Morty.

Morty gritted his teeth and took a step back, wondering if he could try talking to this person. "H-hi..." He squeaked, immediately starting to stumble back when the person made no move whatsoever to slow down or say anything back. "I-is this Earth? Are-" Morty cut himself off with a small whimper when the man continued running, growling and snarling like a wild dog.

"Stop!" Morty put his hand out in front of him as he stumbled back, trying to signal to the guy to slow the fuck down. "Get back... L-leave me alone!"

The man did not slow down. If anything he ran faster.

"Oh fuck..." Morty whimpered, biting his lower lip. He didn't seem to have any other choice but to run now. Whatever this guy's deal was, he was charging right toward Morty, and seemed to lack the ability to be reasoned with.

So Morty turned back toward the trees and started running, as fast as he possibly could.

"Get away from me!" Morty panted as he ran, as the sound of his heart and breaths and the footfalls of his pursuer pounded in his ears. "Leave me alone!" He said again. "I d-don't want any trouble... J-just leave me alone!" He begged breathlessly.

Morty's breaths and voice shook as he ran harder and harder, looking down at the portal gun in his hands as he went. Maybe he should just put in random coordinates and go... He could always try again afterward if he ended up somewhere insane... Unless he ended up on the sun or something...

Letting out a shaking whimper, Morty looked over his shoulder. The wild man was running faster than Morty was. He was gaining on him.

"Stop, please!" Morty screamed, his voice shaking with frightened tears as he looked down at the portal gun's screen and started typing in random letters and numbers. "I'm fr-from Earth! J-just like you! Stop chasing m-" He was cut off when he tripped over a rock, causing him to fly roughly forward. The portal gun flew out of his hands and landed with a loud crack as Morty caught himself on his hands and knees. Sharp rocks cut into his palms and jabbed at his knee caps as tears welled up in his eyes.

Choking out a pained breath, Morty struggled to pull himself back up to his feet, but the wild man was too quick. His large, dirty, rough hands were grabbing Morty by his arms and hauling him harshly upward, only to spin him around and slam him back down against the ground.

Closing his eyes and whimpering, Morty pulled at his arms. The wild man held them so tight.

"Please let me go! Please!" Morty sobbed.

His attacker said nothing back, only grunted wildly as he grabbed Morty's arms in one hand and began violently wrapping a chain around his wrists with the other.

"No!" Morty screamed. This was the exact opposite of what he had hoped for when he used the portal gun to come here. Earth was supposed to be safe. This wasn't Earth. This was a fucking nightmare.

The wild man grunted again as he began wrapping the chain around Morty's neck as well, forcing his hands up near his throat.

"Please!" Morty cried. "Stop! Please, stop!" He whimpered, choking softly as the chain around his neck was so tight.

The man grabbed the small portion of chain between Morty's neck and wrists and pulled him up by it, causing him to choke out another pained breath.

"Wh-" Morty breathed, closing his eyes in pain as his vision started growing cloudy near the edges. He put his hands up near his neck and pulled at the chain, loosening it just barely around his neck and tightening it cruelly around his arms in the same instant. "W-what do you want?" Morty whimpered, shrinking down.

The man didn't answer, but instead began dragging Morty very harshly toward the trees.

"Please..." Morty shook his head as tears spilled down his eyes. "I'm from here... I-if this is really Earth..." Did Fat-Rick lie to him? Was this even a version of Earth? Maybe the man knew Morty might try to come here, and lied to him just to be cruel. That's what his Rick would have probably done. Maybe he got too comfortable around the three new Ricks way too fast. Maybe their whole operation was fake, just one big joke to get him to feel safe and then hurt and embarrass him.

Morty's attacker grunted again, tugging hard at the chain, perhaps silently warning Morty to walk faster.

Wincing, Morty picked up his pace, looking up at the guy as he walked next to him. He looked almost like a caveman, but more advanced. He had chains and other metal weapons. Morty swallowed nervously. He had knives... sharp, scary-looking ones... An ax... Maybe on this version of Earth humans evolved differently, developing the ability to make tools, weapons... but not language.

"Wh- Do you understand me?" Morty spoke in a tiny voice. "I'm n-not trying to mess with anything... I mean, I'm not here to like try to steal your home or take your resources... I'll just go live on my own. Th-that's fine..."

The man grunted loudly again, tugging hard at the chain so that Morty choked painfully and grabbed at it with his hands again as he stumbled forward.

Morty shook his head and blinked back tears. This guy didn't understand him. He wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this. If anything, talking was just making this man even more angry.

Looking over his shoulder, Morty noticed the broken portal gun lying in the dust behind him. That was his only way off this planet. He didn't know how to use it, it was broken, and he had no way to get to it.

Breathing in and out shaking, anxious breaths, Morty continued walking. Panicking wasn't going to help. He wasn't sure what this guy wanted, but for right now, he wasn't doing anything too terrifying. The chains around his neck and wrists hurt... Being dragged around by a man who didn't seem to understand language and who had a whole arsenal of knives strapped to his back was pretty fucking horrifying, but in this exact moment, Morty wasn't being significantly hurt.

Maybe the man was taking him to his leader - someone who would know language, who would see Morty was harmless, and in need of some help... Or maybe the leader would be like the leader of the last planet he got stranded on.

Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout as he looked back up toward the man dragging him roughly by his neck. Maybe there was no leader. Maybe this guy was the leader.

"Wh-what are you gonna-" Morty was abruptly cut off when the guy yanked hard at the chain again, eliciting a sharp gasp and a fit of coughing from his captive and effectively convincing Morty not to fucking say anything else. The man didn't understand him. It wouldn't do any good anyway, and he certainly didn't want to be strangled with a chain.

So he continued following, feeling more and more exhausted and anxious with each passing step.

He wondered where they were going - if it was going to be a building of some kind, a clearing in the trees, a cave... If they were capable of making and using tools, they might have a castle or fort, maybe an entire town... Just because they didn't have a language didn't mean they weren't intelligent... Maybe they even did have a language and it was just one Morty wouldn't understand, so they didn't bother using it. Maybe the grunting and growling as a language. Maybe they understood each other.

He wondered if there were more of these people - if they traveled in groups or alone. Was this guy taking him to his own private house? To a jail for prisoners? Morty kind of would rather be put into jail than taken to this guy's house.

Morty had lots of time to wonder about all the possibilities while they walked and walked. If this guy was from a group, maybe they'd make him work for them, teach him to hunt... eventually adopt him into their family - it wasn't what he had hoped for, but perhaps it would be better than his Rick. He could become a wild man. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

He closed his eyes and shook his head softly, realizing he was being completely naive. That was the best-case scenario, and best-case scenarios never happened. They weren't going to welcome him into their group. They were probably going to hurt him in some way or another, beat him, rape him, sell him into slavery... It couldn't be anything even almost good. Morty wasn't lucky enough for that.

The minutes ticked by into what felt like hours. The hours ticked by into even more hours. He wasn't sure how long he had been here, but it felt like ages. With each additional step, Morty wondered if he was even going to be capable of continuing to force himself to walk. He was so tired, so thirsty. His legs felt like jelly. His lungs felt only half-able to be used, as the chain around his neck was making breathing a little difficult.

He dragged his feet as his breaths felt more and more challenging and strained. His vision seemed a little cloudy, like a veil of grey was dropping over his eyes. The chains around his neck and wrists were tight, bruising, constricting. He felt like he could barely breathe.

Morty felt his arms growing limp as his steps became more and more difficult. If his arms weren't being kept up by the chain, he'd have let them drop. His eyelids felt heavy. His lungs felt cold and dry and empty.

His captor must have noticed Morty didn't look well, because just as he had felt ready to pass out as he walked, he felt a hand squeezing his face and a canteen of liquid being forced between his lips.

Morty coughed and sputtered as tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Metallic, lukewarm water spilled into his mouth. He couldn't exactly claim it was refreshing, but he was really thirsty, so he swallowed it rather than spitting it out.

But being given a drink didn't do much to keep him from feeling completely lightheaded and exhausted. When his aggressor tugged the chain and dragged him forward again, Morty still stumbled. His breaths were still short and painful. He could barely manage to see in front of himself. He still had that warm, yet cold feeling in his chest, that smoky, grey veil over his eyes.

He stumbled so much that within a few minutes he felt himself being lifted off the ground and thrown over the shoulder of his kidnapper, who must have realized that making Morty walk himself just wasn't practical.

Morty choked out a soft sob, closing his eyes and trying not to think about the fact that a violent wild-man was taking him toward an unknown fate and that there was nothing he could do about it.

Morty's mind drifted here and there as he was carried onward, wondering if the Ricks had noticed he was gone yet. They probably wouldn't have even thought to look for him for a while. He didn't seem as much of a flight risk anymore. For all they knew, Morty went to his room. Maybe when they noticed he'd been quiet for twenty minutes or an hour or two, they'd go check. He wouldn't be there. Then maybe they'd check the rest of the ship. Another twenty minutes gone... Then they'd start wondering what could have happened to him...

Eventually they'd figure out that he took a portal gun. Then what? Would they know to check this dimension's Earth? Would they even know which planet to check?

When they did get here, if they did, they wouldn't know which direction to go. This man had been roughly dragging him along for what felt like hours. Morty's feet hurt. His throat was dry. His eye lids felt heavy. Even his lungs hurt - the man dragging him painfully across the dry, cracked earth was moving so fast...

Rick was never going to find him. None of them were. How could they?

Morty blinked and swallowed, looking around more than he had been. The landscape was looking a bit different, less flat... There was smoke nearby - from a fire... And it smelled kind of like meat cooking.

His heart pounded as he realized they were growing near to something. He didn't know what... But it was something. Other people - probably people like this one who was only capable of grunting and viciously dragging him across the ground by a chain wound cruelly around his neck...

What were the chances of the destination being any less rough and terrifying than the journey? Wherever the guy was taking him, he doubted it was going to be anything less than horrifying. Morty was so fucking screwed.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This side-quest could have been a whole story on its own... and maybe I should have made it into its own plot and into a short-story... But I did not, and it's part of this long one. *shrug*


	15. Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

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Morty whimpered as he was thrown roughly to the ground, landing with an out-of-breath cough and closing his exhausted eyes for a moment. Sure enough, the first wild man had taken him back to a group of about forty of them. They all looked at him with interest when he arrived, and several were quick to close in on him as soon as he hit the ground.

Like the first, these ones didn't speak either. They just stared and made grunting noises as they further cornered him and grabbed out toward him like it was normal to just circle someone and paw at them like hungry buzzards pecking at a dead animal.

"No! Please! Get away from me!" Morty frantically pleaded as he squirmed and thrashed, trying to avoid being grabbed by the many hands reaching for him. He tried to crawl backwards, but with his arms bound near his neck, he could barely manage.

One of the wild people grabbed at his arm and began roughly untangling the chains around his wrists and neck as another one lifted his shirt up over his stomach.

Morty choked out a frightened sob, grabbing at his shirt just as soon as his hands were free again. "Don't!" He whimpered, trying to pull the garment back down. He wasn't sure what they were trying to do, but he didn't like it. He was scared of these people. He didn't know what they wanted from him, but he certainly didn't want them to undress him. Being here fully-clothed was terrifying enough.

The one grabbing at his shirt just grunted a rather angry-sounding noise, snatching Morty's arm in a hard fist and grabbing his shirt again, viciously tugging it upward. A second person grabbed his other arm to help the first rip the shirt up over his head and toss it to the side.

Morty looked over to where the shirt landed, desperately wanting to crawl away, reclaim it, and put it back on. The air was cool now on his chest and arms. The shirt he'd been wearing was Rick's, a long-sleeved one that had done a good job keeping him warmer than a lot of his own shirts did. Now he didn't even have that.

"Please stop!" Morty sobbed, trying to push their hands away. They basically ignored his struggles, grabbing his arms in hard fists. "Let me go! Please! Don't touch me!" Morty begged, pulling uselessly at his arms, squeezing his eyes closed in fear. He was so outnumbered, so outmatched. They were going to do whatever they wanted to him, and there wasn't a damn thing he was going to be able to do about it.

He could feel his attackers' rough hands pawing at him still, grabbing around his arms, squeezing, touching all over his chest, near his ribs. He couldn't understand what they were doing... It was scary and confusing.

Morty opened his eyes and breathed in a shaking breath as he watched them grabbing and feeling his arms and torso, squeezing and examining his limbs, making grunting noises and nodding at each other.

He was scared of them sexually abusing him... When they started taking off his shirt, he feared that's what they were moving towards. But that didn't seem like what they were trying to do. They weren't groping between his legs, trying to force Morty to touch any part of their bodies... They didn't pull down his pants, try to grab or penetrate him. It wasn't at all like what The Sultan or his men did and tried to do. They were just very roughly grabbing at his arms and chest. Almost like they were examining his body, looking for something on him.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Morty breathed, trying to shrink down. There were too many of them. He couldn't even begin to fight back. "I d-don't have anything!"

There had to be at least four holding onto his limbs at any given moment. There were so many hands on him, gripping, squeezing, feeling. Somebody down below pushed up the shorts he was borrowing from Rick and squeezed Morty's thigh similarly to how the other ones were grabbing at his arms.

"Stop!" Morty whimpered, trying to pull his arms free so he could reach down and push the hands grabbing at his leg away.

They ignored his pleas and struggles. One of them down by his legs grabbed his thigh and started turning him over onto his stomach. The ones closer to his head followed that one's lead, twisting his body and pinning him painfully face-first against the ground.

Morty sobbed a frightened cry. Maybe they were going to rape him after all. Maybe in their culture roughly squeezing their victim's limbs first was normal.

"Please!" Morty begged, his voice shaking with tears as he felt hands still squeezing at his upper arms, twisting slightly as though examining the muscles there. Others were doing the same to his calf muscles, squeezing and grunting noises that sounded pleased as another of the men grabbed his other leg in the same place, squeezing and making the same noise of approval.

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shrink down against the ground. He was so confused. This didn't make sense... but it was still terrifying.

"No! No! No, please!" Morty screamed as he felt fingers sliding under the waistband of his shorts, starting to tug them down. He tried to pull his arms free to defend himself, but they were being so harshly pinned down to the ground. "Don't! Please! Stop!" He sobbed.

Morty could do nothing but cry shaky, panicked breaths as he felt his shorts and underwear sliding down his thighs, then down his calves and ankles and off of him completely. Hands were immediately on him in the places his shorts used to cover while other hands remained holding him down by his arms and legs. He wasn't sure how many people were grabbing him, but he guessed it was at least six.

"Let me go! Please!" Morty sobbed, flinching, but unable to break away as he felt hands grabbing and squeezing at his thighs and butt. "Get off of me! Don't touch me! Stop!" He cried.

Morty groaned in pain and frustration as his attackers continued squeezing and groping, still not necessarily focusing on anything outright sexual. No one had expressed any interest in grabbing him between his legs. No one cared that his penis was within reach on the other side. No one tried to shove their fingers or anything else up between his butt cheeks. They certainly could have. There were so many of them, and that part of his body was completely exposed right now, completely vulnerable to that kind of assault if that's what they wanted to do. But they didn't seem to want that... The option was right there. No one went for it. But what did they want then? Why were they grabbing, squeezing, examining his body like he was an animal in some kind of dog show or horse race? What the hell could they possibly be doing?

"What the fuck do you want!?" Morty screamed, clenching his hands into angry fists, looking around the space, between the bodies of the wild people grabbing and pawing at his flesh. He still couldn't understand what they were doing. This felt like an incredible violation of his personal space. It was creepy and unwelcome. He didn't want to be grabbed or touched all over... But it didn't seem like this was a sex thing - not for them.

Morty's breaths became even more short when he finally started taking in details about the location rather than focusing on only the people. They were near the woods, but not in it. A fire pit was in the middle of the group. Several people were adding wood to it, making the flames grow larger.

He looked around more, ignoring for now the hands squeezing his arms, legs, and butt. A few of them were sharpening knives near the fire. A pile of bones lay nearby... Bones with remnants of cooked meat still on them in a few places.

Morty swallowed as he narrowed his eyes, staring at the pile of bones. Was that a foot on the end of one of them? A human fucking foot?

Morty's struggles immediately increased as he began screaming at the top of his lungs, no longer even managing to form words. He wasn't begging anymore. He was just screaming in pure terror. They weren't trying to touch him in a sexual way. They were feeling his muscles - his meat... They were going to fucking cook him and eat him.

"Oh my fucking god! No! Help me!" Morty finally managed, unsure if there was anyone on this whole fucking planet who actually would. "Jesus fucking Christ! Fucking help me!" He sobbed, thrashing as best as he could. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe it took him this long to figure this out. Of course they weren't groping all over his arms and legs for sexual pleasure. They were seeing how much meat he had on him. That's why they seemed to like this legs and butt so much. There was more there than than his skinny arms...

"Oh my god..." Morty whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt two of the wild people dragging him up off the ground by his arms. "Please! Please don't do this!" He sobbed, opening his eyes and dragging his feet as he tried to twist his body back around. He didn't feel so nervous about being undressed now. He didn't care if he spent the rest of his life naked - as long as he had a rest of his life to live.

Morty screamed again when he noticed a large, flat rock with blood running down it. Some of the blood was dry and crusty. Some looked relatively fresh. A sharp ax lay on the ground next to it. That was where they were going to execute him... Then they'd cut up his body and eat him.

"Help! Help me!" Morty screamed, thrashing wildly in their grip, but not slowing them down even a little. They were so big compared to him, and he was so outnumbered. "Please! Somebody, please!"

"Morty!" A Rick's voice shouted.

Morty shrunk down and squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't sure which Rick it was, if whichever it was was going to be completely fucking pissed off at him, but he did know any Rick, even if it was his own original one was better than this. He'd rather be hit, kicked, yelled at, have his arm dislocated... even be sold to a perverted sultan, than be cut up and fucking eaten.

"Help me, please!" Morty sobbed as he opened his eyes back up and looked around. He wasn't even sure which direction the voice came from.

"Morty, god damn it. Hold the fuck still!" Rick's voice shouted as various wild-men around him started to disappear as they were shot with lasers. The hands on his arms let go or disappeared as the men were either shot or ran off in fear.

Morty let himself fall to the ground as all of his attackers were either killed or ran off while his savior Rick shot at them one by one. He curled himself into a tiny ball, sobbing terrified, relieved sobs. He was so happy the wild people were gone, but now he had a whole new problem. Whichever Rick this was, he was probably pissed right now, pissed at Morty for stealing the portal gun and running away - or, if it was his original Rick, pissed at him for ditching The Sultan and running away.

"Morty, what the fuck!?" Rick's voice growled as he walked up to the boy, who was still shaking and crying on the ground, curling himself into a tiny ball.

Morty whimpered and forced his eyes open long enough to see the Rick looming over him had a scar on his cheek. Great. The one out of the three with the shortest temper, who hated him the most. At least it wasn't his original Rick... but it was the next-worse. If any of the three from the star ship were likely to beat him up for something like this, it would be this one.

"I'm sorry!" Morty sobbed, shaking his head and closing his eyes again, curling in on himself. He covered his head with his arms, shielding himself from potential rage. His Rick would probably hit him at this point, maybe even kick him. Tell him he was fucking stupid.

Of course Scar-Cheek Rick was going to be angry with him. Morty had done exactly what the guy told him not to. He used the portal gun, broke it, nearly got himself fucking cannibalized. He could guess what his own Rick might have done, but wondered what this Rick would do... Hit him? Kick him? Leave him here alone and naked just to prove a point - prove that he was right and Morty was wrong, the he deserved to be killed for his dumb mistake?

"Please, I'm sorry!" Morty whimpered, still refusing to look up. His Rick would probably grab him by his arm, pull him up off the ground just to hit him and knock him back down. Then he'd grab him again and drag him back... Probably would make him stay naked just to embarrass him and prove to Morty that he made a dumb mistake and would have to suffer for it.

He didn't know for sure what this Rick would do... but he really didn't want to find out. He just wished he could go home, but to a place he could consider home - not where he lived with Rick, not where the new Ricks were trying to take him, not to a mysterious, unknown Rick's house... To a place he could feel safe and protected. Not here, not with any Rick. He just wanted to feel safe, for once.

Morty couldn't help but to sob louder as he hid his face from Rick and the world. He didn't know what to do. Any direction he turned was wrong, dangerous, traumatizing. There was an entire multiverse, literally infinite realities... and still no place for him in it.

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	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

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Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head and exhaled an annoyed breath as he stood over Morty, who was completely undressed, curled up in a ball at his feet, trembling, crying, hiding his face like he thought if he couldn't see Rick, Rick couldn't see him... The dumb little idiot was lucky to fucking be alive.

Rick breathed in and out somewhat shaky, barely controlled breaths. He was so angry right now. He kept trying to be gentle and patient with this kid, and it made no difference. Morty kept running away, fucking things up, getting himself into danger when he would have been perfectly safe just not doing anything dumb. This was the exact thing that led to Scar-Cheek Rick never fucking seeing his Morty again.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Morty..." Rick growled, balling his hands into fists. "We were all getting along fine! I thought you weren't fucking scared of us anymore. Why would you run away? What the fuck are you thinking?"

Morty shook his head and continued sobbing. "I was j-just scared... I'm sorry... Don't hit me, Rick, please!" He whimpered, curling himself into an even smaller ball. "J-just take me back, please! Rick, please... I'm sorry! Don't hit me..."

Rick felt his mouth drop open slightly. "I'm not gonna fucking hit you... I just don't understand why you're being a god damned suicidal dipshit... Why the fuck would you do this? You were safe with us... I thought you fucking knew that... This is the kind of thing a dumb, cornered animal does - running into certain death because its so fucking scared and feels like it's fucked otherwise... Did we do something to make you think you were gonna die or get horribly hurt? Are we somehow worse than this?" Rick growled, gesturing around them.

Morty shook his head, but still kept his face hidden by his arms. "No... I j-just didn't w-want to go to the Safe Haven... I d-didn't want a new Rick..." He whispered.

"You'd rather be fucking cannibalized. Great. Smart choice, dumbass." Rick grumbled. And this kid wondered why they didn't want to keep him. How the hell could they? They'd spend the rest of their lives chasing him around, trying to keep him alive while he seemed determined to die. Scar-Cheek Rick had a Morty like this once - one that ran, got himself into danger while trying to be defiant. He lost that one. That one was probably dead.

"I'm sorry!" Morty whimpered, still hiding behind his arms, refusing to look up at Rick as he sobbed and shrunk down.

"No you're not." Rick stared. "If you're sorry you don't keep doing the same thing over and over again. You're not fucking sorry for doing stupid shit. You're sorry the stupid shit you do keeps almost getting you killed. But you're too damn dumb to connect the dots and just stop doing stupid shit. Get up."

Morty continued crying, but didn't move to stand. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." He sobbed.

"God damn it, Morty." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled as he tried to keep his anger under control. "I fucking told you... The portal gun isn't a fucking toy. You're lucky to be alive. You know that, right? I'm not even being as big of a bastard as I should be, and you still keep fucking up. Jesus Christ... Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He growled, reaching out toward Morty's arm.

"No!" Morty shrieked, jerking his arm back and finally starting to move on his own. He crawled shakily backwards. "I'm sorry!" He repeated. "Rick, please! I'm sorry... I w-was just scared... Please!"

Rick frowned, taking a step back as he stared down at the boy. Morty seemed like he was scared of Rick. He was shrinking down, staring back with huge, fearful eyes. It made Rick feel guilty. He didn't even feel like he was being that mean here... but maybe to Morty he was intimidating, scary... if only because his own Rick would have hurt him if he were here instead. This Morty was recovering from years of physical and verbal abuse, and his abuser was almost identical to Scar-Cheek Rick. Of course he was freaking out.

"Please... I didn't mean to. I didn't know..." Morty whimpered, curling himself back up, covering his face with his hands and sobbing.

"Morty... Get up..." Rick exhaled, reaching out again, trying to move slower this time. Morty was clearly scared of him, and that wasn't fucking fair. Scar-Cheek Rick had never hurt him and never would. Morty should have known that by now.

Morty let out a shaking breath and shrunk down further. "Rick, don't be mad at me... Don't hit me... Please... I j-just didn't want to go to the Morty Safe Haven. I don't trust the other Ricks... Th-the ones that might want to adopt me... I don't want to go to one like my original one... Don't be mad..."

"I am mad at you, Morty..." Scar-Cheek Rick stared down at him, shrugging out of his lab coat and draping it over Morty's shoulders. He knelt down in front of the boy, pulling the coat closed in the front to fully cover him. "I'm really fucking mad, Morty." He repeated.

"I'm sorry..." Morty whispered, looking tense and nervous as he shrunk back very slightly. He looked like he fully expected Rick to lash out and hit him.

Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout. His eyes shined with tears, but he looked down at himself, at Rick's hands on his arms, holding the coat in place, helping keep him covered up, not hitting him, not punching him, not even grabbing him and dragging him away like Scar-Cheek Rick wanted to.

"I'm completely pissed at you, Morty... At your constant, endless line of bullshit." Scar-Cheek Rick glared. "You don't have to freak out and cry about it. You just have to stop doing dumb shit. I'm not gonna hit you... I just don't want you to fucking get yourself killed."

"I didn't mean to..." Morty shook his head as he whispered. "I thought it would be like the Earth I'm from... I thought I could live on my own... So no bad Rick would end up taking me."

Rick exhaled tiredly, closing his eyes for a moment. "We're not giving you to a bad Rick. I told you that. I promised, and I meant it. You want to stay with us. Me, and Fat-Rick, and Regular-Rick 2. You keep saying it. You wanna stay with us. Why?" He asked.

Morty looked down at his lap. "B-because I don't think you guys are bad... I d-don't think you'll hurt me... You're really mad, but you're not hitting me. You're barely even yelling. Y-you put your coat on me. My Rick would have hurt me for this."

"So you trust us." Rick rephrased.

Morty bit his lower lip and nodded. "Yeah." He whispered. "I guess so... Y-you guys have been really nice. You each could have hurt me, and you didn't. I've been being difficult, and no one hit me. I'm weak and keep losing my clothes and no one's trying to touch or grab... You guys give me your clothes so I don't feel embarrassed or cold. Y-yeah... I th-think I trust you..."

"Then you need to trust that we're going to take care of you in the way we know how - that's re-homing you to another Rick. That's what we do. We love Mortys. We make it our life mission to take care of you little dumb asses..." Rick told him.

Morty looked up with a tiny smile. "You love Mortys?" He whispered.

"Well... I don't know if 'love' is the right word, but-" Scar-Cheek Rick backpedaled.

"You said it... Those were you're words..." Morty reminded him in a small voice.

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled and rolled his eye. "Fine... Yeah... You can call it love... We don't hand you little dip-shits out to just anyone. We'll get you someplace safe. You trust us so much, then you need to trust us to do that." Rick explained.

Morty looked down again, breathing in and out slowly.

"What you're doing - freaking out, assuming we're taking you someplace awful, trying to flee in an unwarranted panic... Trying to escape the ship using a navigation panel you don't understand, using a portal gun you don't understand... It's chaotic. It's dangerous, reckless... It's what my Morty did when he got mad at me, and he's fucking gone. I'd have done anything to keep him safe, but he wouldn't let me. He left and he's gone. Probably fucking dead, and that breaks my god damned heart. You can't keep trying to do this yourself. We're here to help you... So let us." Scar-Cheek Rick advised.

Nodding, Morty sniffed back unshed tears.

Rick frowned and leaned down slightly so he could see Morty's face better. The boy was clearly trying to hold back sobs. He was shaking slightly, breathing a little unevenly. Rick put his hand under Morty's chin, tilting his face upward.

Morty sniffed and averted his eyes, but didn't flinch away. He had tear streaks down his cheeks and his lower lip was trembling. Rick could see that the boy was very ready to start crying again.

"Morty... Are you okay?" Rick finally asked. He supposed he never did actually ask what had happened or if the kid was alright. "Did they hurt you? You alright?"

Morty shook his head and reached out toward Rick, wrapping his arms around the man's torso and burying his face in the man's shirt, immediately starting to sob loud, shaking sobs.

Rick breathed in a slow, steady breath, placing his hands on Morty's back and the back of his head, holding him close. He didn't figure these people actually hurt the kid - not in any significant way. Probably scared the shit out of him though. From what he knew about the place, he didn't expect them to torture or otherwise abuse their prey. They just killed and ate them.

Morty's sobs grew even louder, even more breathless as the boy clung to him like Rick was the only thing in the multiverse he could trust.

"You're okay..." Rick spoke in a low voice, feeling a little unsure what else to say. He wasn't one to get emotional or to be comforting. "Just don't do this kind of shit... You were safe with us, then you had to go fuck everything up..."

Morty choked out another series of heartbroken sobs, causing Rick to grimace and hold him tighter. Maybe he was saying the wrong thing.

"No hard feelings, Morty, okay? I'm not mad... I mean, I am, but I can get past it. I can forgive you if you just don't do this kinda shit anymore." Rick offered. "Okay? I won't hit you or yell or anything... I'm not your Rick... Fat-Rick, Regular-Rick 2... They're not your Ricks either. They're not like that. None of us are. You don't have to be scared of us. Respect us if you fucking will, but we're not gonna hit you if we get mad. You're gonna be okay. You're safe now."

Morty shook his head, but his sobs seemed to be dying down a bit.

"You're alright..." Scar-Cheek Rick said again.

"I dr-dropped the portal gun... I br-broke it, Rick..." Morty whimpered. "I kn-know you're gonna find out... s-so I'm telling you... I'm not trying to hide th-that I broke it. It was Fat-Rick's... Please don't be mad... Don't hurt me... I'm sorry, Rick. I know you said not to play with it... I should have listened, but I didn't, and that guy was chasing me and I tripped and dropped it. It was an accident."

"Okay... We'll deal with it." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned, remembering what he'd been told about Morty's original Rick... Morty accidentally lost his money and the man sold the boy to a sexual predator. He wondered if Morty was fearing something like that happening in this instance. "We can just make another one. Fat-Rick can anyway... It wasn't even mine..." He laughed.

"D-do you think he's gonna be mad?" Morty sniffed. "Do you think he'll hurt me?"

"No. He won't." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "Fat-Rick is the biggest softie in the fucking world. I don't think he could ever be mad at a Morty. He coddles you all like he's trying to create the biggest fucking spoiled brats in the universe. He won't hurt you. You know... Just tell him you're sorry and that you won't fucking do it again."

Morty sniffed again, still hugging his arms tightly around Rick's stomach. "I know I messed up... I didn't mean to. Maybe I don't think things through very well before doing dumb stuff..."

Rick shook his head, pulling back out of the embrace and frowning down at the boy. "That's okay... You fucked up. You won't do it again. It's over. You gotta stop assuming every Rick is like yours. I'm making you a promise right now that I won't ever hit you. If you piss me off, I'll yell. I'll tell you you're a fucking moron, but I won't hurt you. Not physically... I might hurt your feelings, but you don't need to be scared of me hitting you. I won't do that. The portal gun's broken... It is what it is. I'm not mad... and even if I was, I wouldn't hurt you... Just learn from this. That's all I ask. Okay?"

Morty sniffed and nodded, then choked out another shaking sob.

Rick exhaled and frowned. "You're okay, Morty. I'm not mad this time. I'll give you a pass... Just this once, okay?"

"Uh huh..." Morty nodded, but his breaths were still shaky. He was still crying.

"We can go find the others. They're looking for you too, so we might find them before they get caught by cannibals too..." Scar-Cheek Rick laughed. "We'll just forget this whole thing. Move on. Get you to the Safe Haven... Find you a really good Rick..."

Morty's lip trembled as tears spilled down his cheeks. "I thought I was gonna die, Rick..." He whispered.

"Um..." Rick grimaced. He was not equipped for this level of raw emotion. Morty was so fucking upset, and Rick was kind of a sarcastic asshole. What the hell was he supposed to say? "You didn't though... You didn't die. You're fine..."

"Th-they were g-gonna eat me, Rick... They took off all my cl-clothes and grabbed at my arms and legs... and my butt..." Morty explained. "They were j-just grabbing and squeezing... I thought they were being creeps for a second, but it didn't feel quite like that... Th-then I saw the fire and the bones... And an ax and that bloody rock over there... Th-they were gonna kill me and cut me up... cook my arms and legs and eat me!"

"Yeah..." Rick shrugged. "They're cannibals, so probably..."

"What the fuck happened here, Rick?" Morty wondered in a breathless whisper. "Fat-Rick said this was Earth..."

"It is. Earth G-116. They're all different... Some more different than others." He laughed. "This version of Earth evolved in a bit of a different direction than the Earth you know. The humans here are closer to Neanderthals than anything, and at some point separated into tribes that regularly hunt and cannibalize each other." Rick explained.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Rick... W-why would they do that? Wh-why the fuck would people e-eat each other?" Morty's voice shook.

Rick shrugged. "I dunno. Population control? Fuck it if I know. Just what they do... That's why you don't just go to random places with the portal gun, Morty. This is actually a perfect fucking example of why I told you not to."

"I'm sorry..." Morty apologized again.

"It's okay this time. Just don't make the same mistake again. A mistake once is a mistake. More than once and it's just being fucking stupid." Rick told him. "Just learn from your fuck ups to avoid being considered a dumb ass. I get it. Sometimes you gotta learn by doing. You did. You learned. Don't repeat it."

Morty laughed softly, but nodded. "Okay." He agreed.

"Alright... Let's go find Fat-Rick and Regular-Rick 2." Scar-Cheek Rick suggested, standing up and reaching his hands down toward Morty to help him up. "Let's get the fuck out of this backwards hellhole."

Morty smiled and laughed softly. "Thanks, Rick." He leaned against Rick's side, allowing the man to put an arm around his shoulders and hold onto him as he led the way back the way he'd come, back where he'd last seen the other Ricks.

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	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

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It took a few hours for Scar-Cheek Rick and Morty to find Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick, who had gone off in two different directions looking for Morty on Earth G-116. Once all four of them were reunited, they portaled back onto their star-ship and got back on track.

They'd lost about half a day thanks to Morty's detour. They were still only a few hours away from The Morty Safe Haven, but it was practically time for bed again already, if they were going to bother keeping track of time, which Ricks weren't famous for. Even so, Morty seemed utterly exhausted. Scar-Cheek Rick chose to watch the navigation monitor until they arrived at the Safe Haven. He was feeling increasingly paranoid that something was going to go wrong - as that was developing into a pattern surrounding this Morty.

Morty seemed to be feeling exceptionally clingy toward Scar-Cheek Rick lately and decided to hang out near the navigation system. Rick wasn't sure if he was annoyed by that or not. In a way, it kind of gave him a warm feeling in his heart. Morty trusted him, whether Rick deserved it or not. The boy wanted to be around him. Even after Rick yelled at him.

Maybe he should have been even more harsh though. If he went too easy on the kid, Morty wouldn't learn... but perhaps having his clothes violently ripped off of him and nearly being eaten by cannibals was a good enough lesson itself. Scar-Cheek Rick certainly didn't go easy on his original Morty. They argued constantly... and look how that turned out.

Rick glanced over at the boy, sleeping in the same place he had the previous night. Scar-Cheek Rick could barely believe that the kid even wanted to be around him. He was far from the nicest, most caring Rick in the multiverse. Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick were much more gentle and patient... Morty hadn't asked to follow them around and sleep at their feet like a dog. Maybe the kid got so used to his own Rick talking down to him and yelling at him that he had grown comfortable with it to the point of preferring it.

Rick frowned and looked away. He hoped that wasn't it. He hoped Morty didn't think he was a bastard, wasn't gravitating toward him because being treated like shit was familiar to him. Scar-Cheek Rick wouldn't ever claim to be warm or welcoming. He knew he could be a little rough, and often didn't even want the Mortys they met getting too close... but even so, he didn't want them to fear him... especially not this one.

Scar-Cheek Rick looked back at the monitor. They were almost there. Another hour or so and they'd be at the Morty Safe Haven, dropping off this Morty, who had proven to be one of the more challenging. Somehow he didn't feel the rage inside him he normally felt when dealing with difficult Mortys though. For some reason, Scar-Cheek Rick almost felt like he could understand this one.

Of course, almost every Morty they ever met had a sort of frantic fear to them. They operated on emotion. They ran, hid, kicked, screamed... whatever they felt they had to in their states of panic. It was easy to get mad at them for misunderstanding things, assuming things, getting scared and reacting... But Scar-Cheek Rick didn't feel angry right now. He certainly had earlier... But a part of him knew Morty wasn't trying to be defiant or difficult. He was scared. He was alone and scared, nervous about being given to a Rick he didn't know - because the Rick he did know hurt him - in so many ways. Morty didn't know if this unknown Rick he'd end up with would be the same way - or worse. He ran away because he was scared of that...

But Morty was starting to know the three Ricks here with him now. He was starting to trust them. He wanted to stay with them. He didn't trust the unknown, but he trusted these three. Scar-Cheek Rick frowned as he looked down at the kid, sleeping on the floor near the navigation system, like he had the previous night, choosing to sleep on the floor rather than in a bed, near Scar-Cheek Rick instead of away from him. Even after Scar-Cheek Rick yelled at him, scared him, Morty still trusted him.

Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. He wondered if his original Morty trusted him. They argued a lot. His Morty didn't really ever seem to be fearful. He was more assertive and brave than a lot of Mortys... He wondered if his Morty was ever truly scared for his life if he would run to Rick for protection, trust him to keep him safe. He probably trusted that Rick would come find him when he ran off... But Rick didn't. He tried to, but his Morty couldn't know that.

He wondered if his Morty was still alive out there somewhere, if he was scared... Maybe another Rick, or even just a random person or creature out in the multiverse found him and was kind and caring toward him. Maybe Rick's original Morty was still alive, safe and happy somewhere.

Rick scoffed and closed his eyes. That was stupidly and unrealistically optimistic. His Morty was probably dead. That was quite likely the best case scenario. He was either dead or being somehow abused somewhere. The multiverse could be a sick, twisted, cruel place. Morty Q-405 was pretty good evidence of that. The poor kid couldn't seem to catch a break.

"How's he doing?" Regular-Rick 2's voice spoke up.

Scar-Cheek Rick looked up to see Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick approaching. He shrugged. "He's alright, I guess... The Earth G-116 people really scared the hell out of him, but maybe it's a necessary learning experience. It's good he did something completely fucking stupid like that when we could guess that's where he went and save him."

Regular-Rick 2 frowned sympathetically, obviously connecting in his mind the fact that Scar-Cheek Rick's original Morty did the exact same thing without the benefit of anyone having any idea where he went. Scar-Cheek Rick hoped his original Morty hadn't suffered a violent, cruel death, but at this point, he figured he might truly never know for sure.

"We need to think about keeping our portal guns out of reach from now on... I already made this fucking mistake... Let's not repeat it again. We're fuckin' Ricks. We're not supposed to be this damn stupid." Scar-Cheek Rick glared over at Fat-Rick with a raised eyebrow. For a Rick, the guy certainly could be stupidly naive and careless.

Fat-Rick frowned, but nodded as Scar-Cheek Rick stared back down at the navigation monitor. "I'm sorry. I thought he was honestly just curious when he asked how to use it. I never considered-"

"He wants to stay with us." Scar-Cheek Rick blurted, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"I know." Regular-Rick 2 noted.

Fat-Rick shifted from one foot to the other. "I know we always say we're never going to keep a Morty... But maybe that rule isn't necessary. There's space for him here. He's not disruptive or destructive unless he's scared, and he wouldn't be if he felt safe. He feels safe with us. We really could let him stay..."

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head. "No we can't."

"Why not?" Fat-Rick frowned.

Scar-Cheek Rick glared at him. "We aren't good at Mortys. Are you fucking kidding? All of ours are dead. We each had one once, one our our own who we completely fucking loved... And they're gone. We each proved we can't fucking take care of a Morty long-term."

Fat-Rick breathed in a small breath, staring speechlessly at Scar-Cheek Rick.

"I'm a toxic bastard. I'm a rude asshole, and if I take in another Morty, I'll just scare him off and then he'll get lost or killed like mine. When he's scared he tries to run off... We travel to dangerous places looking for Mortys. He's gonna get scared again, gonna run again..." Scar-Cheek Rick reminded him. "You each got yours killed too... We adopt these Mortys out to responsible, good Ricks... Does that even describe us?"

"I think it does..." Fat-Rick whispered. "We each screwed up... but we've learned from it. The Ricks we adopt them out to have lost their Mortys too... Mistakes happen... If anything, Ricks who've lost their Morty are an even better fit... They're more careful... They learned the hard way how precious each little Morty is..."

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head. It hurt so bad that he failed his own Morty so significantly. He wasn't sure he deserved a second chance, and wasn't sure any Morty deserved to go through the hell of having him as a parental figure. Scar-Cheek Rick was a grumpy asshole. This Morty didn't deserve to have to deal with that. No Morty did.

"I know we each care about him... He's been through a lot... We're each bonding with him in our own way... I'd be lying if I said I didn't want him to stay, but I don't think it's a good idea either. I don't think were equipped for it... We're letting our emotions win out over logic." Regular-Rick 2 agreed.

"So?" Fat-Rick frowned. "Why not let emotions win sometimes? Mortys are emotional..."

"But we're not." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "We can't keep him. It's dumb. He deserves better... We're reckless and live in a space ship... He's a vulnerable fourteen year old boy who needs a semi-normal life outside of Rick things..."

"We have no actual home... He deserves a home, a real family - maybe Beth, Jerry, Summer... if they are still alive in whatever his new dimension will be. School, friends his own age." Regular-Rick 2 noted.

"Mortys never have friends their own age." Fat-Rick scoffed. "We are good at Mortys." He stared, clearly hurt by Scar-Cheek Rick's earlier comments. Fat-Rick sure was emotional considering he was a Rick. He took things so personally. "We fucked up with ours, but now we know what not to do. Now we're each so much more careful... And I know for a fucking fact you guys care about this kid as much as I do... if not more. He's so fucking drawn to each of you."

"He's got a lot of dangerous people with very advanced space-travel technology after him, Rick." Regular-Rick 2 reminded Fat-Rick. "They know we have him. They tracked him somehow-"

"And they'll track him again." Fat-Rick glared. "We know how to deal with it. His new Rick might not. We know what might set him off - what he might do if he's scared. We know his trauma and we're starting to learn how to not upset that. We should keep him. He wants to stay. We want him to stay, whether we each admit it out loud or not..."

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head, but didn't deny that. He did want Morty to stay. He knew it was a dumb idea, but he didn't want to let the kid go. He had similar feelings about lots of Mortys, but he couldn't deny the fact that he felt particularly drawn to this one. This one seemed to need them a lot more than most.

"We should blow up the Ubixian castle, any outposts..." Regular-Rick 2 suddenly suggested. "Kill his Rick if he tries to take him back. Anyone after this kid, we should just kill... Fuck all of these people for treating him like this. We kill them all. Then no one will be after him, he'll be safe... Then we can consider keeping him."

Scar-Cheek Rick felt his mouth drop open slightly. Regular-Rick 2 wasn't usually this brash. He was also usually the one who most frequently advocated for rescuing Mortys, but never adopting them. He said over and over again that he loved them, but wanted to help them get somewhere safe, not take them for himself.

"I agree." Fat-Rick grinned.

"What about living in a space ship without a real family?" Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "What about him needing a house and school?"

"We'll be his family." Fat-Rick noted.

"Space ship works as a house for us... It might not be that big of an issue..." Regular-Rick 2 shrugged. "And you know damn well he'll learn more with us than he ever could at any fucking school."

"You both are thinking with your hearts instead of your brains." Scar-Cheek Rick glared, feeling his own heart struggling to be heard as well. They were Ricks. Ricks didn't make decisions based on emotions. They functioned through logic, even when it sometimes felt cold, even cruel. It would be dumb to let this Morty stay here.

"Maybe that's not always such a bad thing." Regular-Rick 2 furrowed his brow. "Mortys need love and care sometimes. This one certainly does. Logic is great, but Mortys need something else."

"They need stupidity?" Scar-Cheek Rick crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah... Kind of... Blind, stupid emotions. Actual love... I know it's dumb..." Regular-Rick 2 frowned.

Scar-Cheek Rick frowned and shook his head. "You're all a bunch of loose canon emotional fucking idiots..." He grumbled, but the more they talked about it, the more he thought about it, the more it didn't seem like such a bad idea. The thought of an individual Morty always hanging around, being cute and stupid... Someone to teach and take care of... It was really appealing. They could each get to know him as a person, joke with him, feel proud of him... It would be like old times... He couldn't replace the ones they lost, but he could start to fill that void in their hearts.

"He wants to stay..." Regular-Rick 2 repeated. "Our whole operation's goal is to match up compatible Ricks and Mortys... to find each Morty we rescue a Rick who will love and care for him... I know we care about all the Mortys we rescue, but I don't think any of us can deny that this one has a spark of something different about him. If the goal is to find a Rick who would really care about him... we already have... We found three. We're rescuing Mortys all the time. There's almost always at least one on the ship anyway... Why not keep this one around?"

Scar-Cheek Rick sighed. "We'll think about it. We'll drop him at the Safe Haven, go back and blow up the castle... Find and eliminate his Rick if need be..."

"Then go back to the Safe Haven and adopt him." Fat-Rick finished.

"Maybe." Scar-Cheek Rick glared. "We're Ricks, you guys. We're logical, not emotional. We need to think this through. We all agreed-"

"We all need a constant Morty in our lives." Fat-Rick frowned. "I know you each feel it too... I love saving them, helping them, but I want one of my own... He can't replace mine... I don't expect him to... We'll each still have that piece of our hearts lost with our original Mortys, but we have space in our hearts for him too. I know we do..."

"We'll think about it." Scar-Cheek Rick persisted. "I'm not committing to this." He glanced down at the floor, where Morty was curled up on his pillow, snuggling under his blanket. The other Ricks were right, in a dumbass emotion-driven way... He really wanted to keep this kid.

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	18. Chapter 18

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Chapter 18

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"A-are you guys really going to just leave me here?" Morty pouted as he looked up at the three Ricks standing before him. They each had a hint of discomfort in their eyes. Scar-Cheek Rick was hiding it the best, with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Regular-Rick 2 seemed to try to look un-affected, but had a hint of tears in his eyes. Fat-Rick was actually frowning, looking like he just witnessed a kitten getting kicked.

"We have things we have to do, Morty... We'll come check on you soon..." Regular-Rick 2 noted.

"What if a random Rick who I don't even know comes and adopts me first?" Morty frowned. "Takes me all over the multiverse so you can't even find me..."

"He won't. Mortys stay at least ten days before being adopted so we can gather information, observation... We never adopt a Morty out so soon." The Rick who was presently watching over the Mortys at the Safe Haven noted.

Morty frowned as he looked over at the guy, who seemed completely fucking identical to Regular-Rick 2 and Morty's original Rick. This multiverse nonsense was so fucking confusing.

"You can call me MSH-Rick-4." The Rick told him. "Or just Rick-4 while you're here."

Morty furrowed his brows. That was a lot of letters and numbers with no clear reason behind it."What the hell does that mean?" He wondered.

"Morty Safe Haven Rick 4." The man laughed.

Morty exhaled tiredly. He hoped the other Morty Safe Haven Ricks didn't look exactly like this one. The little nick-names didn't mean shit if he couldn't tell them apart. He supposed he could just call them all 'Rick' not bond too closely with any particular one, and be done with it. At least the three Ricks on the star ship had distinguishable features.

"We know each of these Ricks." Regular-Rick 2 noted. "You're safe with them. Look for the MSH band on their shirt sleeves... If a Rick is wearing one of those, you know he's safe... But there shouldn't be any strange Ricks wandering around. We require them to use the front gate and wear visitor badges."

"What if they just portal in here?" Morty frowned.

"They won't. That's not allowed." Fat-Rick promised.

"Is it impossible to do?" Morty stared with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no... It's possible-" Fat-Rick frowned.

"Then it could happen... Especially with a Rick who doesn't respect your rules... Which would be the exact Ricks you wouldn't want to come in here in the first place." Morty pouted. "You guys are Ricks... Why are you expecting them to follow your rules? You know how Ricks are..."

"We have scanners on the buildings that scan everyone in the facility every fifteen minutes. If someone is here who is not in our system, an alarm sounds and we deal with it. It hasn't even ever happened." MSH-Rick-4 noted.

Morty shook his head. It didn't feel as safe as he would have liked. Fifteen minutes was along time. His Rick could portal in while Morty was alone for a minute, steal him, and be gone again before the scanner ever went off. When would they even notice he was gone? Hours later when they did some kind of roll call?

"Anyway, my arm band is green. MSH-Rick-1's is red, 2's is orange, 3's is yellow... So on and such like, in the order of the rainbow. Then we get into pink, white, black, brown, grey... Each one of us has a different color. So that's how you can tell us apart." MSH-Rick-4 noted.

Morty frowned and looked over his shoulder at Regular-Rick 2, Scar-Cheek Rick, and Fat-Rick.

"We've got something we need to do... So... we might be back tomorrow, maybe the next day. You're safe here. MSH-Rick-4 will take care of you." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "So will the others. All the Ricks here are decent."

"Okay." Morty exhaled. He didn't really have a choice but to do what they said. He couldn't force them to take him with them... He felt like he really liked the three Ricks... but he understood that he wasn't as special to them as they were to him. They rescued so many Mortys... This was a one-time experience to Morty... It happened all the time to the Ricks.

"See you, Morty... Call us if you need anything." Regular-Rick 2 handed Morty a card with a phone number on it.

Morty stared down at the card with a frown. There were at least twenty digits in the number.

"There's phones in our office." MSH-Rick-4 informed him.

"Great." Morty breathed. It wasn't like he was going to have time to run down to the office and call them if someone attacked him... And even if he did, they couldn't help him immediately... What if the Ricks who ran this place were abusive? What if his Rick or The Sultan's people showed up and stole him back?

"You'll be fine. The Ricks here will take care of you. They work alongside us. We know them... So just go to one of them first if you need anything." Regular-Rick 2 instructed. "You're safe here. Scar-Cheek Rick, Fat-Rick... Ready?" He frowned toward his friends.

They each nodded and followed him out the way they had come in.

Morty frowned and looked down at the ground. He trusted that Regular-Rick 2 and the others wouldn't flat-out lie to him. They at least trusted the Ricks here... And this one Rick he had met was nice so far... Even so, it was uncertain and strange.

"Let's go see your room, Morty." The Rick he was left with suggested. "We typically call our Mortys by what dimension they're from to avoid confusion, since you're all named Morty... You're Morty Q-405."

"I am?" Morty frowned.

"Yes." MSH-Rick-4 nodded. "We Ricks at the Safe Haven often just go by our numbers rather than the whole MSH thing too... So I'd just be Rick-4. It's easier. Rick-5 does the night shift into the morning. Ricks 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 10 cover meals and cleaning. Ricks 6, 11, and 12 do home visits to check on our Mortys... They also work around the facility when they aren't doing that. There's almost always four staff present."

Morty stared with his mouth hanging open. That was a lot to remember. "Do they all look identical? I mean... On the ship, one had a scar, one was fatter... Do you guys have stuff like that? Like some of you being taller or skinnier or longer hair or something?"

"Very minor things... It's quite hard to tell us apart. That's why we adopted the colored arm bands." Rick-4 answered.

"So later Rick-5 will come? And his arm band is um... what color?" Morty frowned.

"Blue... At any rate, I'm telling you all this about names and dimensions because you've got a room mate, Morty XB-4. That's his dimension - that's why I brought it up... He's non-verbal at the moment... Very shy, skittish if you try to catch him... He won't cause you any trouble..."

"N-non verbal?" Morty frowned, unsure what exactly that meant.

"He doesn't speak. We found him in a giant horn-beast's nest... It ate his Rick alive right in front of him." Rick-4 grimaced. "We got that much out of him eventually, through guessing and getting him to nod or shake his head... Rick's bloody bones - well, a few of them - were found nearby... Poor kid's been so fucked up. Real hard to adopt."

"Jesus Christ..." Morty whispered, feeling his eyes growing wide.

"Yeah... We try to get him to come out sometimes... And he does if you're really calm and careful about it... But he's just so scared of everything. We'll have to find him a Rick who doesn't like to travel as much - one who won't put him in any type of situation where he'll get scared..." Rick-4 shrugged. "Anyway, here's your room..."

Rick pushed open a door and flipped the light on. A Morty who had been sitting on the lower part of a bunk bed immediately jumped off the bed and ran into a closet, closing the door behind him. Rick closed his eyes and shook his head.

Morty blinked his eyes a few times. It was weird enough seeing duplicates of his grandfather. Seeing other versions of his own self was definitely the weirdest moment of his life. It was kind of creepy.

"Morty XB-4... This is Morty Q-405... He's gonna be your room mate for a while. He's just come from a really wild, eventful ordeal, so you might get something outta talking to him if you want to. Or just listening to him if he wants to talk to you. He had a lot of fucked up shit happen to him." Rick called out, glancing back toward Morty and shrugging. "You don't have to come out if you don't want to." He added in a low shout.

Morty frowned. This Morty seemed even more traumatized than Morty felt. Even with a Rick who abused him, Morty would have been terrified to watch the man be eaten alive by a monster. As much as he realized he shouldn't, Morty still loved his Rick.

"The top bunk will be yours." Rick noted. "We'll be issuing you two pairs of pajamas, two t-shirts, two pairs of pants, underwear, socks, shoes... We've got three meals per day, snacks as you see fit as long as you don't over-do it. If you're here more than a week, we start school classes as needed. We've got a rec-room... Mortys don't like sports, but we do have a gym with some shit you all hardly ever touch. We've got a library... again, a bunch of shit in there you'll hardly ever touch. We don't let you Mortys search porn on the computers. I know, I know... Bunch of buzzkills..."

Morty looked down and cleared his throat. It was weird that this guy he only just met kind of knew a lot about him. Most Mortys seemed to have a lot in common, and this man already knew dozens of other versions of Morty... Of course, Morty could probably come up with some likely truths about Rick-4 too, just because he knew how other Ricks were... He probably liked to drink, probably wouldn't say no to a new drug he hadn't tried... probably had a short temper, was always right even when he wasn't, might sell Morty and all the other Mortys to anyone who wanted them if they named the right price...

"Come along and I'll show you the rest... Then we can head to the cafeteria for lunch. Meals are at nine, one, and six... Bells toll for each one and you'll have an hour to get through the line and finish. If you do sleep through or whatever and end up hungry later, we have snacks as I said... But try to attend meals." Rick suggested, heading out as Morty followed behind him. "We don't allow Mortys to just live off grapes and chips and crackers... You need actual meals."

Morty nodded. That seemed fair enough.

As they walked, Morty looked around. The Morty Safe Haven looked a lot like a school. There were even a few classrooms complete with desks. That was good, that the Ricks cared about Mortys getting an education... Maybe in case they were stuck here long-term... If no one ever wanted to adopt them because they were too traumatized... Like Morty XB-4.

"Rec room." Rick gestured toward a room as they passed it.

Morty peered into the doorway. Four Mortys were sitting on a couch together watching television. They laughed and chatted like they were friends. Morty smiled. Seeing all the Mortys was definitely bizarre, but they looked like they were doing okay. That meant he could do okay too... Maybe if he did get stuck here, it wouldn't be too bad. He could get along with other versions of himself... Who could possibly understand him more than himself?

"Lounge." Rick gestured at another room.

Morty looked through the door to see two Mortys looking pretty much just confused as they stared down at a chess board. Morty wondered if they knew how to play. He didn't. Another Morty seemed to be taking a nap on a large, very comfortable-looking chair. Three more sat on a carpet in the center of the room, looking at comic books.

Morty felt another smile spreading on his face. The Ricks knew that a lot of Mortys liked comics and got some for them. They looked like new ones too.

"Library, Gym." Rick gestured to the left and then the right, then kept walking. "Bunch of the Mortys use the gym for slumber parties... They play video games on the computers." He rolled his eyes. "Bathroom - there's showers in there. We'll get you a little shower caddy for your toothbrush and soap and all that." Rick noted.

"How many Mortys are here?" Morty wondered.

"Twenty eight right now." Rick answered. "No. Twenty nine. You make twenty nine. We've got two in the process of being adopted, but we check references, do background checks. I mean, we're lenient as far as background checks go... We realize we're dealing with Ricks..." He laughed.

Morty frowned. "But you're dealing with Mortys too... If Ricks aren't capable of-"

"No." Rick interrupted, shaking his head. "Ricks are often thieves, they break and enter, do the occasion line of cocaine... Harmless stuff. We just check for things like child abusers, sexual predators... We're not lenient on that."

"Oh... W-well good..." Morty looked down. He wasn't sure how he felt about living with a Rick who snorted cocaine and broke into people's houses, but he supposed making sure the guy wasn't going to beat or molest him was a start.

Rick-4 put his hand lightly on Morty's arm. "We're very careful... Ricks aren't rule-followers... We excuse things that don't seem important, or else there's going to be no Rick left to adopt Mortys. If a Rick stole a car or got arrested for running through the street naked while shitfaced..." He shrugged. "We just make sure they don't do anything that's directly harmful to their Mortys. No one is perfect, but there are things we don't let slide."

Morty swallowed and looked down. "W-well thanks for checking on that stuff..." He breathed. "Do I get any say in which Rick adopts me? Like, if you choose one, and I just really don't like him, can I refuse?"

Rick-4 shrugged. "Potentially... but if you start refusing everyone, we might end up forcing you to go with a Rick we think can handle you. If there's a reason you don't like him though, tell us. If he threatens you or hurts you in some way, just tell us. We won't make you go with someone like that."

"Okay..." Morty exhaled. He supposed that was tolerable. He just hoped he didn't end up with an awful, abusive Rick who didn't show his true colors until he took Morty far, far away from here. He lived through it once already, and definitely didn't want to do it again.

"So let's head down to the lunch room. Bell's gonna be ringing any minute now." Rick-4 noted. "I'm gonna sit you with the blue-table Mortys. They've kind of adopted a seating chart... Creatures of habit... I think you'll get along well with them. I've got to take Morty XB-4 some lunch... so I'll see you around."

"Okay." Morty nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. He was still nervous about the whole situation... There was no doubt about that... But he had to admit that things were looking far less scary right now than he'd feared.

When the other Ricks talked about the Morty Safe Haven, Morty had pictured pretty much a prison in his head. He figured there's be hundreds of Mortys, sleeping on floors, walking around a cold prison yard with nothing fun to do, wearing orange jumpsuits with holes in them, eating cold oatmeal and stale bread. He sort of guessed the Ricks in charge would be more like his grandfather... He imagined they'd be impatient, mean, violent. He figured they'd hit and yell at the Mortys for any mis-step.

But it wasn't like that at all. Rick-4 was bringing Morty XB-4 food directly to his room because he knew that Morty was scared to come out. There were games and sports to play, books, computers, classrooms, a lunch room with tables. It smelled nice in the facility. It was warm... The Mortys here seemed happy.

With each new step he took away from his original Rick, Morty was seeing more and more that things really were better... Other Ricks really could be nice. Now he just hoped he'd be placed with one of the good ones. That was the next hurdle... the most terrifying one... The one that made him want to try to run away from this whole place.

He supposed he'd wait it out, see what happened... He could always run away from the new Rick if he needed to... But maybe he wouldn't have to.

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	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

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Morty stared silently up at the ceiling as he tried to fall asleep. He had been tired this morning when he arrived here. He was still tired... But he was too nervous to sleep. He supposed it would be a little while still before any Ricks tried to adopt him. There were twenty-eight other Mortys already here when he arrived. They'd been here longer than he had. Most of them would probably go first.

He could probably stand to calm down and stop feeling nervous for a little while. Since the Ricks did background checks and required references, Morty would probably get a pretty good heads up before any Ricks wanted to adopt him. He could worry then.

Blinking as he stared up at moonlight shining in through the room's window, Morty listened. It occurred to him now that he didn't even know what planet he was on. It wasn't earth, because he could see two different moons outside and the sky had a weird glowing purple look.

It was strange how big the universe had gotten once his grandpa had come back into his life... and yet another part of his world had disappeared entirely. Morty didn't always see eye to eye with his mom, dad, or sister, but he loved them, and he was pretty sure they loved him too. Rick didn't... Morty still loved his grandpa, but it didn't look like his grandpa loved him back...

So Morty went from hanging out in pretty much one tiny town on one tiny planet, with three family members who loved him, to traveling through space and dimensions, seeing different planets and aliens... but having no family left - not any real family - not family who cared if he got hurt, who wanted to see him happy.

Morty frowned when he heard movement in the bed below him. It sounded like blankets being dragged off the bed. He pulled himself over to the edge and quietly watched as Morty XB-4 bunched up his blankets and pillow into his arms and carried them over to the closet, quietly opening the door, throwing the bedding inside, stepping in, and closing the door behind him.

Morty breathed out and shook his head. He couldn't blame that Morty for being kind of weird if he really did watch his Rick being eaten alive. That was all kinds of fucked up. What happened to Morty Q-405 was rough, but at least he didn't have to watch his grandfather die. Maybe his Rick didn't give a damn about him, but Morty didn't want his grandfather to die. He loved Rick... in a weird, undeserved way.

As he sat in the dark, still, quietness of the room, Morty heard a soft sniffling sound, which slowly turned into tiny whimpering cries. Morty frowned, furrowing his brow as he sat up and looked toward the closet. He wished there was something he could do. He felt really bad for the other Morty.

He imagined the Ricks here had tried their best with the strange, non-verbal Morty, but could also picture the potential of them being insensitive by accident, telling this traumatized, grieving young boy that a new Rick would fix everything, failing to understand that his Rick was an individual person who he loved... who couldn't be replaced.

Even Morty Q-405 felt a little weird about potentially going home with another Rick... even a nice one. Even the three who lived on the star ship, who he pretty much begged to take him with them. His own Rick was still his grandfather, and as much as the man scared Morty, Morty still loved him, still wanted to make him proud, to be accepted and loved back...

When the cries and sniffling continued, Morty decided maybe he could just talk, let the other Morty know he wasn't alone, that Morty was here if he needed someone to talk to, to hug, to sit with... just a shoulder to cry on.

"M-Morty?" Morty whispered.

A soft gasp came from the direction of the closet. Maybe he didn't know Morty Q-405 was awake. The crying stopped entirely as soon as Morty spoke.

"It's okay that you're upset..." Morty went on. "I can't say I understand how you feel, because I don't... But you're hurt and scared and devastated, and that's fine... You don't have to hide it from me. A new Rick isn't going to fix or undo everything you went through..."

Morty XB-4 remained completely silent in the closet. Morty wondered if he was listening, if he even had the capacity to hear and understand other people. Maybe he was so traumatized he couldn't even focus enough to comprehend language anymore...

"I don't know how your Rick treated you... But mine was always really mean, and I still love him... I can't imagine any Ricks are perfect... I'm sure there were times you felt like you just hated him... But he's Grandpa Rick... Your Rick... He was special... I couldn't possibly know how it feels to be you right now..." Morty went on. "I know you don't talk, but if you did ever want to, I'll listen."

The other Morty still didn't answer. Morty didn't expect him to.

"I know I like to have someone to talk to... Especially someone who won't complicate things... Mortys are good for that. I'm sure you know... We're good listeners... But we don't try to help when we know there's no way to help..." Morty noted. "I'll tell you my story if you want... M-maybe you can knock on the door if you want to hear it... But you don't have to. I can shut up if you want."

Morty stared at the door. Maybe the other Morty wouldn't have any interest at all in hearing Morty Q-405's life story. Maybe he was being stupid even suggesting to tell it. Morty figured it might make this other version of himself feel a little less alone, to hear that other Mortys had suffered too - not in the same exact ways... but every Morty here was here for a reason. Their Ricks were gone.

Morty Q-405 also kind of wanted to get some of his own trauma out of his head. Who better to tell than a Morty who refused to say anything back? He could seriously tell this Morty absolutely anything and everything. The kid wasn't going to verbally judge him or repeat it.

When Morty XB-4 never knocked on the door, Morty exhaled and laid back on his bed. That was okay... The Morty hiding in the closet right now had enough to worry about in his own life. Maybe misery didn't love company as much as Morty thought.

His ears perked up however, when he heard a soft knock coming from the closet.

Morty sat up, blinking a few times. "You do want me to tell you?" He whispered.

Another soft knock sounded from the other side of the door.

"Okay..." Morty smiled slightly. "It's not really a good story... b-but maybe it'll have a good ending. Maybe yours will too." He breathed. "My Rick was really mean... He got meaner after Mom, Dad, and Summer died... but he was always mean." Morty explained. "He blew up the house on accident and they were in it... I hope it was an accident at least..."

Morty swallowed as he stared at the closed door, suddenly wondering if it really was possible that Rick killed his family on purpose... There was a time when Rick hit Morty across the face and he had a huge bruise on his cheek... Morty's mom was suspicious and asked Rick about it. Morty's dad really hated Rick too, and wasn't afraid to show it. Maybe Rick really did kill them on purpose, so he could do whatever he wanted to Morty without anyone asking questions.

Blinking when he heard another knock against the closet door, Morty shook those thoughts out of his head.

"Sorry... I just... was thinking... I hope he didn't do it on purpose..." Morty whispered. "Anyway... Things weren't good. Rick didn't like me. He'd yell at me, hit me... for any little thing. He always said he didn't love me, or even like me... but I didn't believe it. Not until a few days ago. We went to a planet where he was gonna buy this really valuable energy stuff from a sultan, and I had the money, but I lost it when a monster attacked me... Rick sold me to The Sultan since I lost the money." Morty frowned.

The closet door creaked open about an inch, but Morty couldn't see the other Morty. He bet the other Morty could see him though.

"I mean... Obviously I didn't want to be sold... The Sultan said he wanted me to stay with him for four days, and he... Well... He tried to pull my pants down..." Morty breathed nervously... "And I even told Rick that. I ran from The Sultan and found Rick, and I told him what happened. I thought that would be the big thing... the thing where he'd prove that he really did love me... I thought he'd be mad at The Sultan... But he wasn't. He was mad at me... Mad at me for telling The Sultan no and being difficult... I refused to go with The Sultan, because I knew he was going to hurt me... Rick dislocated my arm and hit me... and left me there..."

Morty stared into the darkness of the ajar closet door. He knew the other Morty was probably watching him, but he didn't make any further movement or noise.

Morty closed his eyes and exhaled, feeling his heartbeat quicken as he retold his story. He hadn't really told it in this much detail before. Somehow it was a lot easier to talk about it to another Morty. Kind of like writing it in a journal... It was practically his own self listening, so he could be honest, say how he really felt, not try to be brave or hide any part of it he was ashamed by. This Morty probably felt weak and dumb a lot of the time too. He wouldn't think Morty was an idiot for getting into all this trouble. He wouldn't think Morty was being dramatic when he claimed to be upset and scared by all of it.

"Right when Rick left me there, one of the Sultan's guards came and and tried to do the same thing. He took off my pants and started shoving his hand under my underwear... I panicked and ran, but he caught me... and there was another guard with him, and they were gonna take me back to the castle, but then Regular-Rick 2, Scar-Cheek Rick, and Fat-Rick showed up and saved me..." Morty explained. "But then different guards or soldiers or something attacked us, and two of them got onto the ship and tried to steal me back, but they were gonna do other things too... L-like sexual things... I guess that's like on everyone's mind on that planet, because three different people there tried to hurt me like that. The one that got onto the star ship did the most. Or I guess he did the worst thing. H-he held me down and pulled down my pants and underwear... A-and he shoved his finger in my butt. I know that sounds weird and gross and kinda dumb, but it was really scary. I think he wanted to do even worse things but they were gonna take me back to The Sultan and didn't want to hurt me too bad because I guess The Sultan wanted to be the one to do it. But I got away from them before they could take me back. Scar-Cheek Rick killed them... But the Sultan and my Rick are still out there, and I worry that they might come back and take me..."

Morty breathed in a deep breath after rattling off that entire story without really taking much of a breath during. "It was really scary... And then I tried to run away again because I was scared to come here... Big fucking mistake. I accidentally went to a cannibal planet." He shuddered. "They were like a minute away from actually killing me and eating me. They ripped all my clothes off and were grabbing and feeling... Seeing which parts they wanted to eat, I guess... But the three Ricks saved me from that too. This organization they have might feel kind of scary and uncertain, but I think they might know what they're doing. I hope so."

The other Morty remained silent. Morty Q-405 wondered if the other version of himself was really listening, what he thought... He couldn't judge the story too harshly. He was here too. He was a Morty. He probably got beaten up, or almost got killed, eaten, raped, or something else intense and insane on a daily basis too. Mortys seemed to attract danger.

"Anyway... It's been a long couple days for me." Morty shrugged, closing his eyes and laying back on his bed. "Maybe that's not very helpful to you... I mean, you still had to watch your Rick die, and that fucking sucks... I j-just wanted you to know you're not suffering alone... All the Mortys here lost something, in a way... Not the same thing... We can't fully understand what all the others are going through, but-"

"Thank you." Morty XB-4 whispered from the closet.

Morty blinked and sat back up, wondering if he'd really heard what he thought he heard. "W-what?" He breathed. He thought this Morty had been refusing to speak ever since they found him. Did he really just talk?

"Thank you." The other Morty whispered again. His voice was very low, somewhat raspy from lack of use. "...For talking to me." He added.

"Oh... Y-you're welcome... Y-you can talk to me too if you want..." Morty stammered.

Morty XB-4 opened the closet door a bit more so Morty could see him. He shook his head no.

"Th-that's okay... You don't have to..." Morty smiled slightly. "You don't ever have to. J-just if you wanted to, I'd be okay with it. No one's gonna understand being a Morty more than another Morty."

Morty XB-4 closed the closet door again, and everything in the room was quiet.

"Um... G-good night." Morty let out a soft, breathless laugh.

The other Morty didn't respond, so Morty laid back and closed his eyes. He felt a little less anxious now that he'd talked out a bit of his stress and fears. He wondered if his roommate Morty just didn't talk to Ricks, or if Morty was the only person he'd talked to since he got here. Maybe other Mortys had secretly gotten him to talk too. It made sense... That he'd talk to someone more like him instead of an intimidating Rick. Friendly or not, Ricks were pretty much all intimidating.

Morty tried to relax and get his mind to calm down as he thought back over the past day. He'd sat with four Mortys at lunch. Two of them looked just like Morty did if he stared into a mirror... It was kind of unsettling. The third had hair that was a bit longer, and the fourth had braces on his teeth. They introduced themselves by their dimensions, but Morty couldn't remember all of the numbers. There was an "H" in there somewhere, and a "17" somewhere else... It kind of barely mattered. They were just number and letters and none of these Mortys were going to be here forever anyway.

The one with braces told him his Rick had fallen into a volcano. The one with longer hair's Rick got the wrong people upset with him and a gang of giant shrimp-looking aliens came to their house and shot it up while long-haired Morty and Summer were at school. He said he didn't even know where his sister was right now, which was kind of sad...

One of the Mortys who looked just like Morty Q-405 said he didn't know where his Rick was... That he left on an adventure one day and just never returned. The other identical Morty's Rick got trapped in a mirror... however the hell that worked... Morty wasn't sure if that story was literal, or if the Morty telling it was just fucking insane... He did seem a little off. Friendly, but off.

None of them had Ricks like his. Not unless they just weren't telling the truth, which Morty would have understood. He realized it was hard to talk about these things sometimes, but from what they said, each of their Ricks was relatively nice and caring. Morty asked them if their Ricks ever hit them or shoved them really hard, or otherwise abused them. They all said no. One said his Rick grabbed his arm kinda hard sometimes, but that was it. Another said his Rick used to lose track of him a lot and not seem to realize Morty was gone. But none of them seemed to have been living with a Rick who was flat-out abusive.

It kind of put Morty's mind more at ease, in a way. Before he'd met other Mortys, he wondered if almost all Ricks were bad and the three on the ship were a fluke, but that didn't seem to be the case. His Rick, his awful, violent, abusive Rick was the one that was unusual. Most Ricks wouldn't dislocate their grandson's shoulder on purpose. Most wouldn't consistently punch, shove, and kick their Mortys as punishment or sell them to people they knew would sexually abuse them. Most Ricks weren't like that, which meant Morty being adopted by a random Rick he hadn't met might not be as big of a terrifying gamble as Morty had previously assumed.

Morty blinked open his eyes when he could swear he saw a bright greenish light through his eyelids. He sat up and frowned. A portal - just like the ones Ricks used - just like the one Morty used to travel to the horrible cannibal-version of Earth - showed up in the middle of the room.

"Morty... I um... We've got some extra paperwork we need you to fill out." The Rick explained, reaching up toward Morty and grabbing his arm.

Morty frowned and climbed down the ladder, wincing when Rick 'helped' him down by practically dragging him. "Okay, okay..." Morty grumbled. "You don't have to drag me... I'm coming. W-what paperwork?" He pouted. They hadn't made him fill out any to start with. He assumed the three Ricks from the star ship had given the ones here any information they needed.

"J-just some stuff we forgot earlier... questionnaires to help match you up with a Rick who's compatible with you... Surveys regarding your own preferences and experiences..." Rick shrugged.

"Alright..." Morty exhaled. "W-why do we have to do it in the middle of the night though? I was just finally almost falling asleep..."

Rick tugged Morty by his arm back toward the portal.

Morty frowned. "Can't we just walk down to the office? Doesn't that take a lot of energy to use a portal for such a small-"

"Wow, you know a lot about portals all of a sudden." Rick glared down at him.

Morty's mouth dropped open. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Rick seemed actually angry. "I just... Scar-Cheek Rick told me..."

"Oh, did he?" Rick stared with a stern frown.

"Um... Yeah..." Morty whispered, starting to feel his breaths growing short. This Rick seemed really familiar... in a way that was absolutely the opposite of comforting. He let his eyes scan up and down the man's arms. Rick-5 was supposed to be working the night shift. He had a blue arm band... This Rick didn't wear any color.

Letting out a small whimper, Morty tugged his arm back away from Rick and took a step backward. He shook his head. "R-Rick?" He whispered.

"Uh, yeah." Rick laughed, reaching out and grabbing Morty's arm again.

"M-my Rick? Rick Q-405?" He breathed.

"Well..." Rick scoffed, squeezing his hand tighter around Morty's arm. "Look who fuckin' knows everything now... Who the hell told you what dimension you were from? Those Safe-Haven Morty-Stealing Star-Pirate fuckers have really been educating you, huh? Well, you can share all your new knowledge with The Sultan... If he doesn't fucking kill you first."

Morty shook his head, stepping back and tugging at his arm, which Rick just grabbed harder as he dragged him toward the portal.

"No!" Morty gasped. "Rick, please!"

"He owns you, Morty... You're being a little brat." Rick growled as he dragged Morty closer and closer to the glowing green doorway, likely leading them straight to the castle on Ubix-405.

"No! Rick, no! Let go of me!" Morty screamed, dragging his feet and grabbing out toward the bed post, but only managing to snatch thin air in his hands as Rick dragged him toward the portal. The last thing he saw before being stolen out of the room entirely was Morty XB-4's wide eyes staring back at him from inside the closet.

"Help me!" Morty sobbed as he was dragged backward. Morty XB-4, the closet, and the entire bedroom disappeared as Morty was pulled roughly through the portal and into an uncertain, but terrifying situation. Maybe there wasn't much the other Morty could do... but at least someone knew Morty was being taken... At least there was a chance he'd be rescued again.

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	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there's been a bit of a wait between chapters lately... As you all know, we're in the midst of a global pandemic and many schools and workplaces are closed or at least dramatically altered for the time-being... I should have more time to write/edit/publish... and many of you should have more reading time... So I guess now's a good time to be uploading this stuff...
> 
> Hope it brightens whatever quarantine you may be within...

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Chapter 20

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As soon as they were through the portal, Rick yanked Morty's arm roughly and let go of him, causing the boy to stumble forward and trip, falling hard onto the ground.

Morty whimpered as he looked up and around himself. He didn't recognize this location. It was cold, with walls and floors made of stone. Several torches hung on the walls, chains were bolted to the floors, ceilings and various beams throughout the space. It looked like an old dungeon. Was this the Sultan's castle? Down below? The part Morty hadn't seen yet?

"R-Rick..." Morty whimpered, shrinking down against the ground and shivering as he looked around the space.

"I can't believe you've been acting like this, Morty..." Rick shook his head, reaching down and grabbing Morty's arms, dragging him backwards, quick enough that Morty couldn't really manage to get his feet on the ground long enough to try to walk on his own. "You fought back against The Sultan and his guards, got twelve of them killed... You lost my money, won't accept the alternative payment... You actually fucking ran away... like a complete fucking little brat. So fucking disrespectful... To everyone. We owe The Sultan, Morty, and it's your fault. You actually fucking owe him your cooperation. It's your debt and you're expected to pay it. You're not a victim in this, Morty. You fucked up and now you've gotta fix it."

Morty breathed in a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he grabbed at Rick's shirt sleeves so he wouldn't stumble backward as Rick dragged him quickly across the floor. "Please don't leave me here again, Rick... We can find another way to pay for the orbs. I r-ran away because I was scared... I didn't want them t-to hurt me..." He whimpered.

"They weren't going to... They probably will now." Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes as he pulled Morty's arm roughly up.

Morty gasped a shocked breath as he felt a cold ring of metal snap around his wrist. His eyes shot open and he looked up as Rick yanked his other arm sharply upward, snapping a metal cuff around it too, so that Morty was standing with his hands secured to a pillar above his head.

"Rick... Please... Please don't leave me here..." Morty sobbed, pulling uselessly at his wrists. "G-grandpa... Th-they're going to hurt me. Y-you can't leave me here... Please!"

Rick didn't even seem to notice Morty was speaking to him. Instead he felt around in his lab coat. Morty wondered what he was looking for. Maybe his portal gun - so he could leave. He'd brought Morty back to The Sultan, and now he could go... forget he was ever here. Forget that he left Morty here to suffer all alone.

"R-rick..." Morty whimpered. "Y-you're m-my grandpa... You're supposed to protect me, Rick..."

"No, Morty. You're supposed to be competent when I give you a fucking job to do." Rick growled, abandoning whatever he was searching for in his lab coat and glaring down at his grandson. A muscle near his mouth twitched before he reached his hand up and slapped Morty across his face.

Morty choked out a shaking, pained, but mostly heartbroken cry as he shrunk down. Rick was wrong. Morty did try to be careful when given a job. He did try to do things right... He was just not very good at it. He didn't deserve to be abused when he made a mistake. The other Ricks knew that. Morty very purposefully pressed buttons on their control panel, having no idea what it would do. He traveled to a dangerous dimension after being specifically told not to, broke the portal gun... He hit and kicked them when they got too close... None of them hit him back. They didn't burn him, push him, abandon him on foreign planets, or sell him to rapists.

"I try, Rick..." Morty's voice shook. "I don't mess up on purpose... Y-you're supposed to protect me anyway, even when I fuck up... B-because you're my grandpa. You're supposed to love me, to not want to hurt me even when I mess up, just because you love me... You have an obligation to-"

Morty was cut off with a sharp gasp when Rick slapped him across the face again. "I'm not obligated to do shit, Morty." He disagreed. "Maybe if you were smarter, less annoying... If I could see you as close to an equal instead of as a dumb fuckup mostly just getting in my damn way and making everything I do twenty times harder..."

Morty looked down as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Th-the other Ricks didn't hurt me. They said you're wrong to leave me with these people... I know I mess up sometimes... B-but I don't think I d-deserve to be hit... or... raped..." He whimpered.

Rick all but ignored him, producing large scissors from his lab coat and sliding the blade up under Morty's pajama t-shirt. "Your Morty-Safe-Haven buddies give you this?" Rick growled, snipping quick, rather scary snips up the front of Morty's shirt. "They just think you're precious don't they. Fuckin' creeps."

Morty choked out a shaking sob. "Rick... W-what... What ar-are you doing? Please don't..." He breathed, somewhat unsure of what exactly Rick was going to do. Rick wasn't ever abusive in a sexual way... Why did he want Morty's clothes cut off him? Maybe he just didn't want Morty to be wearing it since the other Ricks gave it to him. Maybe this was some strange sort of jealously.

"And they gave you cute little pants too." Rick mocked after cutting the shirt completely off of him and throwing it to the ground. He grabbed at the waist of the garment and pulled the fabric down Morty's thighs, all the way to his ankles, pulling them completely off, along with Morty's socks so that he wore only underwear.

"Rick..." Morty squeaked, trying to back away from the man. Would Rick hurt him like this? Would he do what The Sultan and his men tried to do? He never had before... but why take away Morty's clothes? Was he proving some kind of sick point? That he could do whatever he wanted and that Morty was wrong to question it or fight it?

"God damn... You look like fucking hell." Rick frowned as he took a step back and frowned down at Morty. "Fuck..." He reached down, running his fingertips along the bruises on Morty's ribs. "Did I fuckin' do that?"

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and let out a choked sob. Did Rick not realize how much he hurt his grandson? He'd seen the bruises he made before. Rick hit him and grabbed him too hard almost every day, and Morty never bothered hiding his bruises from the man. Rick was responsible for so many injuries of Morty's over these past few years, burns, cuts, bruises, broken bones... At least half of them were very deliberate.

"Well... That's the least of your concerns now." Rick laughed.

Morty shivered, trying to shrink down as he blinked his eyes open and stared up at Rick. "W-what are you gonna do?" Morty whispered.

"I'm not gonna do anything... But The Sultan is fucking pissed at you... Pissed enough that I've been fucking working here so he doesn't execute me... Actually working, Morty. I'm like his employee right now, trying to make up for you freaking out and running off. Morty, I'm god damned so fucking mad at you..." Rick shook his head, balling his hand into a fist and breathing in a shaky, angry breath. "If I didn't owe the god damned Sultan payment for those orbs, I'd probably fuckin' strangle you to death right now, you little shit."

Morty felt his lower lip quiver as he looked up at Rick. "Why don't you j-just take them and go? W-why can't we j-just go home?"

"He'll find us, dumbass. These people aren't stupid." Rick growled, slapping his hand against the back of Morty's head so that the boy winced and squeezed his eyes shut. "Besides, looks like you found a new home... With daddy-Rick's daycare center... Where all the way-too-nice Ricks who just fucking have to have some sick fucking ulterior motive can coddle you all, pat your little heads, jack off your tiny dicks."

Morty sniffed back tears as he shrunk back as much as he could. "Th-they're not like that..." He whispered.

"Yeah, sure. Not yet..." Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes again. "Why would a bunch of old men my age want like thirty dumbass naive little boys all around 'em all the time? And Mortys are so clingy, quick to want hugs and shit. God. I bet they're getting off on you running to them for help, crying and hugging them. They probably just fuckin' loved it when they found you in the woods without your clothes... Did they make every excuse to hug you then, Morty?"

Morty shook his head. "They tried to help me and I got scared and hit them... B-but they still didn't get mad and still didn't hurt me."

"Well, they should have." Rick scoffed. "If you think they're nice it's because they're fuckin' grooming you and the other Mortys to be their sex slaves. What better target than a dumb, desperate fuckup little kid like you? All they have to do is tell you you're special and pretend to give a shit about you and you'll fuckin' melt... God damn, Morty... That's what people like that do. People who are too nice? That's why they're like that. They're fuckin' grooming you. You think a normal Rick is going to hug you and tell you they love you and fucking actually care about you? Ricks don't do that. You realize those Ricks are probably legit pedophiles, right? You realize that, don't you?"

Morty shook his head. "They're not. They're just good people, Rick..." He disagreed... "B-but if you th-think that's so gross and awful... w-why are you g-gonna let The S-sultan d-do it to me?" He stammered, his voice shaking in fear.

Rick shook his head. "Because we fucking owe him. We don't owe the merry band of perv-Ricks. I'd let you go off and let them suck you off to your and their hearts' content after this, but you belong to me and I don't want them to get too attached. That, and just knowing I gave my Morty to some fucked up little-boy-fucker-Rick really makes me wanna fuckin' puke, Morty..."

"B-but, The Sultan-" Morty started.

"We owe him." Rick repeated. "And he's not an alternate version of me. It's less fucked up. You belong to me though, so I can choose who to whore you out to, and other Ricks are off-limits. Sorry." He laughed. "God, that's fucked up..."

"I d-don't belong to anyone." Morty glared.

"Well, right now you do. You belong to The Sultan. Then me... Good luck fighting it, kid." Rick laughed. He turned away and started walking toward the stairs.

"R-rick! Wait!" Morty called after him.

"What?" Rick looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"W-what's gonna h-happen?" He whispered.

"I actually don't really know. Just doing what I was asked. He won't kill you. I know that much. I wouldn't let him do that, so there's some fodder for your 'grandpa-loves-me' boner. Don't know what his plan is beyond him promising you won't die from it. You'll see, I guess..." Rick shrugged and turned back toward the stairs, walking up and out of Morty's sight.

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	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning - this chapter is a little rough... Don't hate me:

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Chapter 21

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Morty shivered as he shifted his wrists over his head. His arms were already getting tired from being held up above him for so long. He was actually feeling kind of sick, like he might throw up. He wasn't sure how long he had been down here since Rick left, but it felt like a really long time.

Swallowing a dry gulp and blinking his heavy eyelids, Morty exhaled a tired, somewhat pained breath. He was cold, uncomfortable, exhausted, thirsty... But mostly he was just really, really scared.

Morty knew where he was and what sorts of horrors likely awaited him. Rick had said or at the very least implied what was going on - he'd brought Morty back to The Sultan's castle because The Sultan 'owned' him for the next four days, and everyone here was pissed at him for fighting back and running away - unintentionally getting twelve of their people killed. While that was definitely not Morty's intention when he ran - he was trying to save himself, not hurt anyone else - he could understand why these people chose to blame him. If he had just sat still and let the guy abuse him, no one would have gotten killed. It wasn't fair that they were upset with Morty for fighting back, but he at least sort of understood the logic behind their anger - only if he considered the fact that they clearly didn't feel that sexually assaulting someone was a big deal here.

Rick had said he was just doing what he was told to do when he took Morty's clothes... The Sultan probably told him to do that, and the reasoning behind the gesture was obvious and terrifying. The last time Morty was here the guy had tried to sexually assault him. And now Morty was tied up down here, wearing only underwear... The Sultan cold easily come down and do whatever he wanted, for as long as he wanted.

He inhaled a small, but sharp breath and looked back toward the stairs as he heard a heavy-sounding door creak open followed by the sound of feet heading down. Morty bit his trembling lower lip and blinked back tears when he saw it was The Sultan.

The man held some sort of metallic tool in his hand. Morty wondered if he was going to beat him with it... or worse. It looked like a long, slender rod of some kind... Would he rape Morty with it? Was that what he was going to do? Hurt him in the way he knew Morty was the most fearful of, just to be cruel, just because he was so angry with him?

"I'm sorry!" Morty immediately breathed, unsure how to plead his case. "I was j-just scared... I'm sorry I was disrespectful... I'm sorry I pushed you and ran..." He stared down at the metal rod as The Sultan drew nearer. It was about as wide as a broom handle, and half as long - the perfect shape to be used as a tool to viciously, painfully sexually assault someone. If The Sultan chose to use it that way, it was going to really, really hurt. "P-please..." Morty whimpered, trying to back away from the man.

"Shhh..." The Sultan whispered, holding the rod up in front of Morty's face. "You got twelve of my men killed." He noted in a low voice.

"I d-didn't mean to..." Morty whimpered. "M-maybe m-making someone do sex things here when they don't want to is normal, b-but on my planet it isn't..." He shook his head. "I ran away because w-where I come from I'm allowed to say no... I s-said it, and y-you didn't care. Your guard didn't care. I w-was s-scared..." He stuttered, feeling himself shaking.

"Well, you should be now... You have to suffer a consequence for what you caused." The Sultan spoke in low, even words. "I'm very disappointed in you, child... This could have been very pleasant for both of us. I would have been gentle, careful, loving... It wasn't my plan, or the plan of my men to hurt you. But you've caused a lot of damage, and though I want to still touch you in a careful, comfortable way, I cant ignore what you've done. Twelve of my men are dead because of you. I think you deserve to suffer a consequence for that."

Morty's lip trembled and his vision blurred with tears as he stared down at the rod in front of his face. When the guard on the star ship forced his finger up inside him, it was very uncomfortable, very close to painful. The rod The Sultan held now was a lot thicker and longer than a finger. It was going to really hurt if that's what the man planned to do with it.

"W-what are y-you gon-gonna do...?" He whimpered. "I d-didn't mean to get anyone killed... I just didn't want you to hurt me. I didn't want your guard to hurt me. I was scared. I r-ran and I didn't kill an-anyone... They g-got killed when they came after me, b-but I didn't do it! I ne-never tr- even tried to k-kill anyone!" He breathed, still staring at the rod in The Sultan's hand, feeling like throwing up as he thought about what the man might do with it.

The Sultan smiled slightly. "You don't know what this is, do you?" He smirked, raising the object up higher so Morty could see it better.

Morty stared back, shrinking down. He didn't want to guess out loud what the object was or what it was for. If it wasn't what he thought, he certainly didn't want to give the man any ideas.

"This is what I'm going to hurt you with. Once for each of my men." The Sultan noted.

Morty swallowed. What did that mean? He was going to rape Morty twelve different times? He shook his head. "Please don't..." He whispered, pulling his legs close together. There was no way he was going to be able to stop the man if that was what his plan was.

"I'll show you what it does, Morty." The Sultan narrowed his eyes, placing the end of the rod on Morty's leg near his knee, slowly sliding it up his thigh, then pressing a button on the end by his hand.

Morty let out a pained scream as he suddenly felt a sharp, electric pain on his thigh. He jerked his leg back, but The Sultan only held the rod down more firmly, shocking Morty until he was physically shaking in pain. It felt like fire, concentrated so strongly in the one area, then radiating through his entire body from there. "S-st-stop!" Morty gasped, squeezing his hands into fists and pulling painfully at his wrists, trying to back away.

The Sultan pulled the rod back and smirked down at Morty as the boy slumped down, choking back sobs and trembling in pain. "That's what it does... That was the first of twelve... I lost twelve men. You're getting shocked twelve times. It's a small price for you to pay considering their entire lives are gone."

Morty's whole body was shaking. His lungs felt like they weren't properly filling. He could barely manage to remain standing on his feet, but his wrists throbbed when his legs failed, so he kept trying as much as he could. "P-please... d-don-don't..." Morty shivered. It hurt so bad. He closed his eyes and moaned in pain. It barely hurt any less now, even when The Sultan wasn't currently hurting him. Why wasn't the pain getting any better?

Morty hissed a sharp breath and squeezed his eyes even tighter closed when The Sultan jabbed at his ribs with the rod, shocking him again, but not for as long this time. The boy let out a choked, shaking sob as he felt himself slump forward, creating throbbing pain in his wrists. "It h-hurts... Pl-please..." He whimpered. He'd never felt a pain like this in his life.

"It's supposed to hurt... That's the point." The Sultan laughed, pressing the rod down against Morty's collar bone and pushing the button again, holding it down longer than the time before as Morty screamed in pain.

The Sultan pressed the rod against Morty's ribs, then his lower thigh near his knee, then on each of his arms, shocking him painfully each time. "Five more... Then you and I will be even." He noted. "Then I'll forgive what you've done. What you've caused."

"Th-then c-can I g-go h-home?" Morty trembled as tears streamed down his cheeks. He could barely breathe. He was in so much pain. "I wa-wanna go home..." He sobbed.

The Sultan smiled slightly, but didn't answer. He placed the end of the rod against Morty's throat, then ran it down the center of his chest, over his belly button, and then down into the front of Morty's underwear.

Morty gasped and flinched as he felt the cool metal pressed threateningly against the side of his penis. "P-please... N-not th-there..." He whimpered, his breaths so short and shaky he wasn't sure he was going to remain conscious.

The Sultan was still smiling, but moved the rod back up, running it up over Morty's hip and shocking him there instead, then running it down Morty's thigh, hooking his underwear and tugging it partially down the boy's leg.

Morty could barely even bring himself to speak anymore between shaking, labored breaths and pained moans. He squeezed his eyes shut and choked out a shaking sob as he felt The Sultan's hand grab the side of his underwear and tug it down further.

Morty felt like his heart had pretty much stopped, and his breaths caught in his throat when he felt The Sultan move the rod down between his butt cheeks, pressing the end of it threateningly against Morty's anus and pausing. Maybe he was waiting on Morty's reaction. Maybe he was just excited and wanted to savor the moment.

"N-n-no..." Morty whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and his hands into fists as he leaned forward as much as possible. "P-please..." He choked out a shaking sob. Maybe The Sultan was going to rape him with it after all... Or maybe he was just going to shock him there. Morty didn't want that either, of course. If this guy was going to pretty much torture him, he could at the very least keep his physical abuse away from Morty's private parts.

The Sultan laughed rather evilly as he jerked the rod slightly upward, pressing it even harder against Morty's anus, coming very, very close to penetrating him with it.

"D-" Morty shuddered, unable to even form a complete word as his heart pounded in his chest and his breaths shook horrible. "P-ple-" He choked.

The Sultan laughed again. "Should I shock you here? That would be stimulating, huh?" He smirked.

Morty shook his head no as he blinked through his tears. "Please d-don't..." He choked.

The Sultan smiled, slowly relaxing, drawing the rod slightly way so it wasn't pressing so firmly against him anymore, though it still rested lightly in the same spot. "I won't, Sweetheart... But we're still not done."

Morty squeezed his eyes back shut as tears rolled down his cheeks. He felt close to fainting, which he almost welcomed.

"Stay calm, Baby. This part is almost over... You have to pay for my men... Each shock is an entire life... They should really hurt more, for longer if we're going to be fair." He pressed the rod painfully against Morty's thigh, near his back, almost on his butt, shocking him for what felt like a lot longer than any of the other times, not letting up until Morty slumped down, unable to force himself to remain standing.

He felt practically passed out and didn't bother opening his eyes, trying to plead, or even really trying to breathe as he felt the rod press against the inside of his thigh near his groin, shocking him painfully. His teeth chattered and his breaths were shallow, almost non-existent... but he honestly could barely even feel the shocks anymore. He was almost numb, almost unconscious.

Morty wasn't even sure if The Sultan delivered the last few of the twelve shocks he promised. He lost count, and then sort of lost awareness of himself. The next thing he knew, he was being carried, then dropped down onto something soft... a bed?

Morty tried to force his eyelids to open as a pained, shaky moan escaped his lips. He felt exhausted, numb, but still in pain... A lot of pain. So much pain, seemingly more and more with each passing moment. His vision was cloudy and he couldn't bring himself to speak. He felt like he was barely breathing.

"Don't cry." The Sultan's voice whispered. Morty blinked a few times. The Sultan was hovering over him, but Morty couldn't really see his face. It looked like a silhouette more than anything. "You don't need to cry..." The Sultan spoke again, wiping large fingers across Morty's cheeks.

Morty groaned softly, trying to turn his head. Was he crying? He knew he hurt... His whole body felt like the worst cramp he'd ever gotten in the back of his leg, only a hundred times worse... all over his entire being. He felt nothing but awful pain radiating through his entire body, throbbing, pulsating, never-ending pain.

"I won't hurt you anymore. You and I are even... I'm no longer upset with you." The Sultan breathed, leaning his weight heavily on top of Morty, pinning his arms to the bed even though Morty wasn't even fighting back. "I'm taking what Rick owes me now, and I have no desire to hurt you. This can be gentle... Especially with you not fighting me the whole time."

Morty choked a tiny, shaking sob, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he felt The Sultan's hand against his cheek, cupping under Morty's chin with his palm and thumb and bending down, pressing his mouth against Morty's. Morty moaned a muffled cry under the man's mouth, almost gagging when he felt a long, warm tongue sliding past his lips, feeling around.

The Sultan let out a satisfied noise as his assault continued. His tongue seemed to be trying to touch every inch of Morty's mouth as his hand wandered from Morty's arm, over his ribs, and down into the front of the boy's underwear.

Morty whimpered softly under The Sultan's mouth, trying to shove his hand against the man's chest, but he could barely lift his arm. He could only sob softly and try to keep breathing.

Every inch of Morty's body felt like it was pulsating with pain. He knew The Sultan had only shocked him on his chest, arms, and upper thighs, but he felt like his entire body was enveloped with pain. He could barely focus on anything else... But The Sultan's tongue forcing itself practically down his throat and his hand pawing uninvited down between Morty's legs were definitely things that could still manage to steal a bit of his attention.

Morty could only make muffled, moaning noises as he shoved weakly with his hands against The Sultan's heavy body. The Sultan's skin was smooth and warm, but his hand squeezed roughly between Morty's legs as the man panted into Morty's mouth.

"Mmnnph..." Morty whimpered, feeling tears streaming down from his eyes. He moved one of his hands down toward The Sultan's wrist, trying to pull his hand away from his groin.

The Sultan laughed softly, but finally moved his tongue out of Morty's mouth. "Shhh... Don't cry, sweet child. You'll be okay."

Morty sobbed breathlessly. "S-stop..." He begged. "H-hurts..." He whimpered. He was referring to the welts The Sultan had made when he shocked the boy earlier, but his rough, groping hand hurt too.

"Your mouth is so warm and sweet." The Sultan commented, leaning back down, forcing another passionate kiss against Morty's lips, sliding his tongue back in.

Morty could do nothing but softly cry as he squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed weakly at the man's pawing hand. He felt so exhausted. So close to fainting. He wished he could just pass out, but the pain was so strong he wasn't sure his mind could manage to shut off. He couldn't stand to endure this though, the pain, the humiliation... He just wanted to be gone from this - from everything.

"You're so soft and innocent, Morty." The Sultan breathed near his ear as soon as he stopped kissing. He kept one hand over Morty's throat and continued shoving the other down between Morty's legs, under his underwear, gripping his large hand painfully around Morty's penis and sliding it up and down. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you. I never intended for it to be like that." The Sultan whispered, still rubbing his hand embarrassingly up and down under the material of Morty's underwear.

"Please..." Morty whimpered, his breaths still shaky and short. He felt like he could barely breathe. The welts from being shocked hurt so bad, almost as bad as they did the second The Sultan created them. Why wasn't the pain lessening? Was it going to hurt this bad forever? Morty had never felt such intense pain in his life, not even when Rick jerked his arm out of its socket before, or when he pushed Morty one day at home and Morty accidentally fell down the stairs, breaking his leg in two places. No, that didn't even compare to this.

Morty sobbed shaky, weak sobs as he felt The Sultan's hand move up out of his underwear, only for the man to grip the garment in both hands, sliding it down his legs and off of him.

"P-please..." Morty whispered, swallowing a dry gulp and trying to lift his arms to fight back. "D-don't..." He choked between shaking, pained sobs.

"You'll be alright." The Sultan promised, petting his hand over Morty's stomach, then standing up, grabbing Morty's legs and pulling him across the sheets toward the edge of the mattress. "Keep calm, Morty. You gotta stay relaxed, or this is going to hurt." He warned, bending Morty's legs at the knee and pushing them up so that his thighs were against his chest.

He held Morty's legs there with one arm and reached his other hand down between Morty's cheeks, running his fingers slowly up and down as he stared with narrowed eyes. "Human Earth males aren't much different than Ubixian males." He noted, running a fingertip embarrassingly over Morty's anus.

"Please stop! G-get off of me!" Morty sobbed, groaning in frustration as he could barely manage to move. He was still in so much pain. Did the shocks The Sultan hurt him with before partially paralyze him? Why could he barely even move? Was the pain so intense that his brain couldn't manage to communicate with his muscles? Were his muscles damaged by the shocks? Would he ever be able to move properly again?

"Have you participated in any sexual activity with another entity before?" The Sultan asked, in such a strangely casual way that it was almost like the man thought he was asking something normal, like asking what Morty wanted for dinner.

"Please don't!" Morty begged, trying and failing to thrash out of the man's grip. "I d-don't want this... Please!"

"Answer me, Sweetheart. Have you?" The Sultan asked again, rubbing a finger lightly, but threateningly down below. "Have you done this before?" The Sultan whispered, pressing his finger in very slightly, teasing, perhaps threatening to do more if Morty continued to refuse to answer.

Morty choked out a shaking sob and shook his head as tears spilled down his cheeks. The only sexual things he'd ever done that weren't by himself were things The Sultan and his guards did to him.

"And no masturbation, I assume? Not involving the anus?" The Sultan stared down at Morty with a raised eyebrow. He seemed so calm and unembarrassed to be discussing this. Why did he think this was a normal way to fucking talk to someone? "You're small, and your anus seems virginal..." He pressed his finger very slightly against Morty's resisting muscles. "Very tight..." He noted. "It's going to take a little preparation to get you ready if I don't want to hurt you... and I really don't, Sweetheart. I mean that."

Morty tugged uselessly at his legs again, for the moment able to focus more on his fear of being sexually abused than on the horrible, lingering pain from being shocked. "Don't... Please don't..." Morty whimpered. His body still felt practically immobile. He was so fucking scared, in so much pain.

"Well..." The Sultan shrugged, pressing his fingertip about a centimeter into Morty's anus, slipping it back out, and prodding back in. "You are very tight, and Ubixians are larger than humans. My penis is fairly thick compared to an average human male, and you're smaller than average... We'll have to work up to it so I don't hurt you. I have various sizes of rectal dilators for this exact purpose. I could pop in a small one for a while, but I do find my own hands to be a bit more fun for me, personally. We can try a dilator after if you seem to need it."

Morty continued sobbing breathlessly. He was in so much pain, and felt so embarrassed and ashamed by his current predicament. The Sultan was still rubbing his finger in what was pretty much the very last place Morty would have welcomed it. The only way things could be worse would be if he pushed it in more than the tiny bit he'd been teasing with, which it seemed like he was seriously contemplating.

No one was going to save Morty this time. No one was going to walk in and make the man stop. He'd use his fingers, do it as long as he wanted, then use the dilator - whatever that was... Then eventually his penis. And he had four days to do it as much as he wanted.

Morty choked out more shaking sobs. He wished the cannibals would have just killed him... What if The Sultan really liked him and didn't even let him leave after four days? What if this lasted a really, really long time? Maybe even his whole life?

"Shhhh." The Sultan whispered, moving a hand up to Morty's mouth and pressing a finger against his lips. "Suck on my finger."

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head. "N-no..." He whimpered.

The Sultan let out a small growl, then grabbed Morty's neck with one hand and shoved his other toward Morty's mouth. "I said suck my finger." He demanded.

"No..." Morty squeaked in a voice so small he could barely hear himself.

"Being difficult isn't going to do you any favors, child. I'm not fucking asking you." The Sultan growled, squeezing Morty's throat so that the boy choked painfully.

"St-stop..." Morty gasped, feeling tears streaming from his eyes. "I c-can't br-"

"Suck my fucking finger!" The Sultan interrupted, squeezing his hand even tighter around Morty's neck.

Morty kept his eyes shut, but parted his lips slightly as he let out a soft whimper, knowing not listening to this man's orders would just get him hurt more. The other man had done this. It must have been a cultural thing - a common practice here when people did this to each other - that they'd use their fingers first to stretch things out - and they used spit to make the fingers go in easier. The guard who attacked Morty on the star ship did this too.

"Suck." The Sultan demanded as he forced his finger into Morty's mouth.

Morty sobbed quietly, but tried to do as he was asked, almost gagging thanks to The Sultan's finger being so long, and entirely unwelcome.

"Good boy." The Sultan breathed, moving his hand away from Morty's face and re-positioning Morty's legs bent at the knee, with his thighs pushed up against his stomach and chest. The Sultan held Morty's legs there with his arm.

Morty felt the man's finger, now wet with Morty's saliva, rub teasingly between his cheeks, threatening to penetrate him. "No!" Morty gasped, trying to flinch away. "No, please! Please don't! Please!" He sobbed breathlessly. "I d-didn't...d-do anything... I didn't mean to l-lose the money or g-get anyone killed... Please!" He cried, his breaths so shaky and shallow he wasn't sure he was even going to remain conscious through this.

The Sultan laughed softly, moving his finger in tiny circles, still threatening to force it in. "You're okay. Relax..." He whispered, pushing only the very tip of his finger in, then pausing, as forcing it in any further would require pushing past muscles determined to keep it out. "We'll go as slowly as your body needs us to. I honestly don't desire to hurt you, child. This can be pleasurable for both of us."

"No..." Morty whimpered, flinching as much as he could. "Please... D-don't..." He begged, reaching weakly toward The Sultan's arm with his hand and struggling to unbend his legs and try to force them back down. "Don't do this, please!" Morty cried as he felt a terrifying pressure down below, as The Sultan slowly, carefully worked toward getting his finger past that barrier, forcing Morty's body to allow it inside.

"Relax." The Sultan said again, his voice low and excited. "You'll like this too. I'm not even lying to you. You think you don't want it, but just wait. Just relax. It feels good. I promise. We have a lot of time together before you go home, and especially after we apply some healing ointment to those welts, you're going to learn to love this. You'll be begging me to do it more, with larger, thicker parts of my body."

Morty screamed shakily as he felt The Sultan's finger slowly forcing itself into him, past his resisting muscles. "Stop!" Morty cried, feeling himself becoming so frantic he could barely breathe. "P-please! Stop!" He sobbed as he felt The Sultan's finger pushing very slowly, but still painfully up into his protesting body. It hurt more than when the guard did it. Maybe it was the angle. Maybe The Sultan's finger was bigger.

"Calm down, sweet child..." The Sultan breathed, removing his finger long enough to reach up with both hands and grab Morty's legs, pulling him closer to the edge of the bed and draping the boy's lower legs up over his shoulder as he knelt down close. "Take some breaths." He advised. "I'm going to use some oils to make this easier. They should help you relax too." He noted as he reached over to an open drawer next to the bed, dipped his fingers into something Morty couldn't see, then put his finger back between Morty's butt cheeks, rubbing a few small circles before slowly pushing it into Morty's anus.

Morty squeezed his eyes shut and grasped desperately and with shaking hands at the sheet on the bed as his breaths refused to calm down. The welts from being shocked hurt so bad. The finger forcing itself into him felt awkward, kind of painful. Now The Sultan was moving his other hand between Mortys legs, grabbing his penis and stroking with his hand as he slid his finger rhythmically in and out of Morty's anus, pushing it in slightly deeper each time he forced it back in.

"Please..." Morty sobbed, choking shaking, uneven breaths. "Please stop..." It all felt so weird. With the oils, everything felt warmer. The Sultan's hands glided so easily, but Morty wasn't sure he could consider that a good thing. Now he kind of lost what little control he had. He couldn't remain tense and make this more difficult for The Sultan. His finger really was quite easily sliding in and out, all the way down to his knuckles.

"Shhhh... Take a breath. You're okay. I'm not hurting you. Just breathe." The Sultan spoke in a low voice. "Try to relax. You're warming up to it whether you're trying to or not. I'm going to add another finger."

Morty didn't even try to beg the man not to. He knew it would do no good. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut, groaned, and flinched as he felt a second finger forcing its way in next to the first.

"This is very nice." The Sultan cooed. "You're getting there... We just need to loosen you up a little more. You can try to just relax... It'll help. You're so tight. So tense.." He noted. "But the oils well help with that. Relax, Baby. You really are doing great."

Morty could barely manage to speak between shaky, pained, frantic breaths. The man's fingers didn't hurt as much as the welts did, but he was extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. "Pl-please..." He breathed, gritting his teeth as he felt the fingers down below sliding in deep, pulling out, then sliding back in, twisting, wiggling, scissoring as the man's other hand stroked Morty's penis.

"I think you might be ready, Sweetheart." The Sultan whispered after a few minutes, pulling his fingers out and pressing something else up against Morty's anus. Whatever it was, it felt much bigger than fingers...and kind of wet and slippery, like maybe the man had put the same weird oily substance he'd coated is fingers with on it while Morty wasn't paying attention.

Morty's eyes shot open and his breath caught in his throat as he tried to focus down between his legs to see what The Sultan was doing, to see what was down there, threatening to forcibly penetrate him. Was that the man's penis?

"Please..." Morty whimpered, trying to back away. He could barely move. He was in so much pain, and felt so exhausted, hurt, trapped... "Please don't..." The man's penis was too big. It was really going to hurt. "Pl-please..." He whimpered, shaking and crying softly.

"You're okay. Relax." The Sultan laughed softly, slowly starting to force his penis against Morty's anus.

Morty couldn't help but to scream shaky, terrified sobs. "Stop!" He begged, reaching down weakly with his hands. "It hurts! Please!" He winced, his breaths becoming very short and shallow. "Please don't! Please! It hurts!" He repeated, his voice frantic and breathless.

The fingers part was awkward and awful, but at least those went in semi-easily. This just wasn't going to happen without a lot of force. This was going to hurt him so fucking badly.

"Shhh. You're okay. Breathe." The Sultan advised as he tried to slowly push his penis in further. "Relax... Try to open yourself up so it doesn't hurt you, Sweetheart."

Morty groaned in pain and screamed shakily as he tried to flinch away. He felt like everything down below was on fire, stretching so far it might tear. There was no way this giant alien's penis was going to fit inside him without him being very seriously injured, maybe even killed.

Morty sobbed breathlessly as he felt his vision growing dark. His breaths were so small. He felt like the oxygen just wasn't reaching his lungs. He gasped short, shaky breaths as he tried to shrink back away from his attacker. He couldn't really breathe. He didn't want to die. Especially not like this.

The next thing he knew, The Sultan had removed his penis the small amount he'd forced it in and was grabbing at Morty's hand.

"Don't! Let me go!" Morty cried, trying to tug his arm out of the man's grip. He couldn't even manage to open his eyes and look around, to try to figure out what was happening. He was so out of breath. His heart was pounding and he felt so close to fainting. His legs were still spread, with his ankles up on The Sultan's shoulders, giving the man complete access to everything. Morty was in so much pain from being shocked that he could barely move, and that wasn't wearing off at all. If anything it hurt worse and worse with each passing moment. He legitimately felt like he might be close to actually dying.

"Breathe, Sweetie..." The Sultan advised, pulling Morty's hand down, forcing the boy to hold it around his penis.

Morty opened his eyes. He tried to draw his hand back, but The Sultan held his own larger hand over it, forcing Morty's small hand to grip around The Sultan's penis. Morty's fingers couldn't even reach all the way around it. It was way too big. How the fuck had the guy thought that it was ever going to fit inside Morty without actually killing him? Morty breathed out a shaking breath as he tried and failed to yank his arm back, then closed his eyes and choked out a defeated sob.

"Rub up and down." The man ordered. "I can adapt so this works better for you, but you do still have to cooperate. You're way too small. Rub with your hand for now. We'll work up to preparing your anus for this. Until then, use your hand. I can live with that for the time being. We'll work on stretching you out..."

Morty pretty much completely ignored The Sultan's orders as he tried to pull his hand back. The Sultan held it so tightly. He couldn't move... But he sure as hell wasn't going to rub this guy's dick on his own. The only way he'd do it was going to be if The Sultan had to hold onto him and force it the whole time.

"Don't be difficult, child." The Sultan warned. "Do this, or I'll force it in down here." He growled, shoving his finger rather roughly into his victim's anus down below.

Morty flinched, moaned a pained whimper, and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as tears rolled down his cheeks. He didn't have a choice. If he didn't use his hand like The Sultan wanted to, the man was going to really, really hurt him.

With trembling fingers and breathless sobs, Morty began to slowly move his hand up and down on the man's penis. He hoped the whole building would just collapse soon. He wanted to die. He wished The big lizard monster just killed him before he ever met these people, or the other Ricks, the cannibals, the Rickless Mortys... In fact, he wished he just died with his mom, dad, an Summer. He wished he never had to live through all of this hell. He'd been through so fucking much, and there wasn't an end in sight.

"You don't need to cry. You're doing great." The Sultan's low voice whispered as the man pushed two of his fingers slowly, gently in and out. "Keep rubbing. That feels good." He spoke. "Try to relax... It's getting smoother, I think. You and I are gonna figure this out... I know it's kind of awkward now, but it'll get better."

Morty squeezed his eyes back closed, trying to keep his mind away from the fact that his hand was gripping an alien's huge penis while the same alien shoved his fingers up Morty's butt. He was so fucking embarrassed. Even if the most painful part was the welts still pulsating all over his body, he was so ashamed and terrified by the rest.

"Relax. It won't hurt as long-" The Sultan's voice was suddenly cut off and he seemed to explode into glittery dust as a laser sound filled the room. In that instant, the pressure down below was gone. No one was holding Morty down, pinning him in place, hurting him... Morty's hand dropped down weakly onto his chest. There was noting left of the man for Morty's fingers to grip. The Sultan was gone.

Morty gasped softly, letting his legs fall back down against the side of the mattress and shrinking down. He was still on the edge of the bed, almost falling off of it as he turned his head to the side enough to see a Rick with a laser gun. He wasn't sure which Rick it was... Maybe he had never even met this one.

Morty was so exhausted, so scared, relieved, but still really fucking scared... It could be one of the Ricks from the Safe Haven, or Regular-Rick 2... or his Rick... Maybe a new Rick entirely. How the hell could he even know at this point? He didn't presently have the strength to deal with this, so he let his eyes fall shut and allowed unconsciousness to take him.

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	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy smokes. This thing is almost done... Thanks for sticking with me. It's been a long ride... Three more chapters!!

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Chapter 22

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"Morty..." Regular-Rick 2 breathed as he rushed over to the Morty's side. The boy was lying limply near the edge of a large bed that no doubt belonged to The Sultan. He was completely undressed, which allowed Rick to see just how injured the poor kid was. He had harsh welts all over him, and the bruises from before looked even worse now since some time had passed. He looked like he had been through hell.

Regular-Rick 2 and the other Ricks were actually on their way over here to tie up some loose ends when they received an urgent message from the Morty Safe Haven. Apparently Morty's Rick portaled into the boy's bedroom and stole him. Morty's room mate alerted the Rick on duty and he called Regular-Rick 2, Scar-Cheek Rick, and Fat-Rick... Then Regular-Rick 2 used one of his last portal gun charges to come straight here.

Unfortunately, he didn't know which room Morty was in, so he had to kill quite a few guards along the way while searching the building... but he couldn't exactly say he regretted it considering hew knew a sickeningly large portion of the castle's staff seemed to be sexual predators.

He finally found Morty in here, immediately and without question shot The Sultan with his laser gun, and was now left to tend to this terribly sad, very likely traumatized, very obviously injured version of his grandson.

Shrugging out of his lab coat, Rick placed it carefully over Morty in an effort to shield his dignity what little he could, then put his hand over Morty's heart, wanting reassurance that the boy was still alive and breathing. He felt a quick heartbeat and subtle rising and falling of the boy's chest.

"Morty, you're gonna be okay... We're going to get you outta here..." Rick breathed, placing his second hand on Morty's cheek.

Morty didn't say anything back, didn't flinch, groan, or whimper. He just lay there, completely still, completely silent. His eyes were closed, but tear streaks were visible on his face. He had strange purplish welts all over his chest, arms, and thighs. Most of them seemed concentrated toward his groin, without actually being directly on his genitals. They were different than the bruises he had from before, which were still visible underneath.

"God damn it..." Rick breathed, examining one of the visible welts. They each looked so precise, so concentrated to a sort of pin-point-specific area the size of a golf ball. This wasn't from being hit or kicked... They almost even looked like burns... Was it electrocution? Electric burns? Had this son of a bitch deliberately electrocuted Morty? Over and over... purposefully doing it right on his inner-thigh, lower pelvis, almost on his buttock... The fucking prick probably moved whatever tool he used around, judged Morty's reaction, and hurt him wherever he seemed the most scared to be hurt.

"What the fuck did he do to you?" Rick whispered, knowing Morty wasn't going to answer. Rick swallowed nervously and put his hand on Morty's shoulder, then moved his lab coat slightly up over Morty's thighs, pushing his leg carefully to the side to look for any obvious signs of serious trauma there - anything sexual having been forced on him.

He saw no blood, no fluids... None of the harsh welts were visible there. He certainly wasn't going to perform a thorough examination, but from here, it didn't seem like Morty was hurt at least. If The Sultan did do something, Rick couldn't tell what it was... Of course, that didn't mean nothing happened. Morty's underwear was on the floor near the bed. When Rick barged in here, The Sultan was hovering over the boy, between the kid's legs, forcing them open, either in the middle of doing something horrible, or getting ready to do something horrible. Rick fucking hoped he was only getting started. He had heard Morty screaming, but Morty didn't only scream when he was hurt. He could have just been scared.

Frowning, Rick ran his fingertips over a purple welt on the inside of Morty's thigh. There were about a dozen of the circular purple marks on Morty's skin. They looked so painful, especially the ones on more sensitive areas, like the ones near his groin.

"That son a bitch..." Rick growled. Morty didn't deserve this... How could someone do this to such an innocent person? Morty was so scared, sweet, gentle, nervous... How could someone see him and want to cause him needless pain?

Rick frowned, wrapping Morty up in the coat and picking his limp body up in his arms. "Let's get the fuck out of here..." He breathed, hugging Morty close.

Rick growled under his breath when he realized he'd left his portal gun in his lab coat, which he'd wrapped around Morty. "Fuck..." He muttered, trying to hold Morty up with just one arm as he felt around in the coat.

"Hey! What the fuck-" Another Rick's voice grumbled as he made his way into the room. "That's not yours. Give him back." The other Rick demanded, pointing a laser gun up toward Regular-Rick 2.

Regular-Rick 2 glared at him, but hugged Morty close against his chest. "Rick Q-405?" He stared.

"Yeah. Why? You one of my Morty's new BFFs? One of those weird, Morty-collecting fuckin' freaks who kidnapped him? He doesn't belong to you." Rick Q-405 growled.

"He doesn't belong to you either. We didn't kidnap him. We saved him from you and these fucking perverts you sold him to. So fuck off and put down the god damned gun." Regular-Rick 2 stared.

"Is that what he told you? That he's an innocent fucking victim in all this? That mean old Grandpa Rick sold him as a sex slave? That he's a perfect, sweet little angel and I'm just so cruel and awful for no good reason? Poor baby..." Rick Q-405 stuck his lower lip out in a mock-pout.

"Are you saying you have a good fuckin' reason for dislocating his arm and fucking selling him to a child molester?" Regular-Rick 2 frowned. "Are you serious right now?"

"He was being a disrespectful fuckup. He lost all my money... After I warned him to be careful, by the way... He can't claim I didn't give him plenty of warnings, but he got himself lost and then lost my money... Nearly got himself fucking killed before these people risked their lives to save him. We had to pay for these orbs somehow, and The Sultan wanted him. It's his own fault... He just had to hold onto my money, and he didn't. It was his screw up. He deserved to pay the price for it." Rick Q-405 shrugged.

Regular-Rick 2 shook his head. He could barely believe this, and it didn't seem like it was going to be worth his time to try to talk any sense into this guy. "No child deserves to be raped, Rick... No person does... No one does. No one deserves that, no matter what they fucked up. I can't believe you're rationalizing this... There's nothing he could have done to deserve that."

Rick Q-405 shrugged. "We'll just have to agree to disagree. I'll take him now. Thanks."

Regular-Rick 2 shook his head again. "No." He refused in a low voice.

The other Rick let out a very forced laugh. "Um... Did you just fuckin' say no? I wasn't asking a question. This is my fucking Morty... It's not up for debate. He's mine, so I'm automatically entitled here. Get your own. This one's mine. I'll fuckin' shoot you... I don't care if I accidentally hit him. I'll do it anyway..."

"Just let him go then... If you don't care if you hit him... Just let me take him... What the fuck's wrong with you?" Regular-Rick 2 breathed.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Rick Q-405 countered. "Why do you want him? He's not even yours... Did you lose yours or something? Need a replacement? Find one without a Rick. There's plenty out there. You should know. You can't have all of them. This is bullshit. You already stole dozens of 'em. I've been to your little Morty boarding school. Go have one of them jerk you off if you need it that bad. You can't take mine."

"You don't even give a shit about him." Regular-Rick 2 growled, holding Morty even closer as the boy let out a small, shaking breath and flinched slightly in his arms.

"And you do?" Rick Q-405 scoffed. "Just give him here. Stop trying to play hero so he'll blow you or give you a hand job or whatever the fuck you're after. Find one without a Rick. They're dumb enough... If you really want one, you can convince one to go with you. It won't even be difficult. This dumb little shit loves me, and I'm such a bastard to him." He laughed.

Regular-Rick 2 glared at the other Rick. No wonder Morty was so hesitant to trust the Ricks on the star ship. His Rick really was a terrible person.

"Hand him over and leave and I won't kill you... I'd normally just fuckin' do it, but I'm feeling generous." Rick Q-405 shrugged, holding one hand out as though expecting Regular-Rick 2 to just shove Morty off on him.

"Come on, Rick... I mean, I appreciate you killing The Sultan, but we had this under control. The guy wasn't really gonna hurt him until you all stole him and killed all of his soldiers and guards. He would have been really gentle. I know on Earth we've been conditioned to see rape as something really bad, but seriously... He'd have shoved a few fingers up his ass, maybe used his dick if he thought it could possibly fit, but I doubt he'd have kept going if it really hurt him. He didn't want to like kill him... He'd have done gentle stuff... jerked off his little dick, maybe had Morty do the same to him. It wouldn't have hurt him... He was being a fucking pussy. I'd have let this guy blow me for four energy orbs. Hell, I might let him do it for free. It wasn't a big deal until Morty freaked out. Do you realize how valuable those orbs are? Now I'm gonna have to kill the rest of the guards so they don't come after me... I mean, if you want to help me do it, you can have ten percent of whatever treasure we find in here... I'm keeping Morty though." Rick Q-405 went on.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Regular-Rick 2 glared. "You sold your grandson to a man you knew was a rapist..."

"Yeah... And?" Rick Q-405 stared back.

"And he's clearly fucking terrified by that. He's not you, Rick. You wouldn't mind some huge, intimidating fucker holding you down and grabbing your dick... He does. You knew he was completely terrified and you didn't give a shit. I'm not fucking giving him back to you." Regular-Rick 2 refused.

"Yes you are." Rick Q-405 growled, taking a step forward.

"No, I'm not." Regular-Rick 2 growled. "Maybe rape is not a big deal on this planet, but it is on yours... That's the same as his." He nodded down toward Morty. "It's a big deal to him... and you knew that. He begged you not to leave him, and you did it anyway. Twice. You knew he was scared."

"He's scared of everything." Rick Q-405 laughed. "Anyway, I don't need to fucking convince you. He's mine. End of story. Give him here."

"I won't." Regular-Rick 2 glared.

"You will." Rick Q-405 scoffed.

"No he won't." Scar-Cheek Rick's low voice spoke out from behind Rick Q-405 as he pressed his own laser gun up against the man's head.

Swallowing nervously, Regular-Rick 2 stared past Rick Q-405 at Scar-Cheek Rick, who looked extremely pissed, and very ready to pull the trigger.

"You don't really love him, Rick..." Regular-Rick 2 breathed. "Just let this go... You can have your energy orbs. The Sultan's not going to come after you if you just take them and go. You don't need him." He nodded down toward Morty.

Rick Q-405 let out a low growl as he glared at Regular-Rick 2, but didn't move his gun down. Maybe he was willing to die for this. "I don't need him. I fucking want him. He's not yours."

"He shouldn't be yours either. He's not your fucking property. He's a person. A sweet, innocent scared little person who only ever wanted you to fucking love him." Scar-Cheek Rick growled.

Rick Q-405 scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck would I love him? Do you actually like this shit?" He nodded toward Regular-Rick 2 and Morty. "You get off on having some dumb, weak little screw up following you around, crying and whining constantly? You guys wanna take him back to your little Morty hangout, pet him like a dog... Take a fucking shower with him, pretend he needs your help so you can rub all over him... I mean... What the hell kinda gross shit are you aiming to do? If you're not using him to get shit done, you want him for something even worse, you sick fucks..."

"You sold him to a rapist..." Regular-Rick 2 reminded him.

"Yeah. For energy orbs." Rick Q-405 laughed. "How many fucking ways do I have to say it? It's really not your business what I do with my Morty. You want to kiss and hug yours and suck their dicks? Go right ahead... I don't give a shit. But this one's mine, and I'm gonna do what I want with him. If a Sultan wants to molest him and give me really valuable shit for it..." He shrugged and laughed again. "How the fuck would I say no to that? It wasn't going to hurt him. It's sex. It's not the end of the world. I would have let him do it to me if that's what he wanted. I just want my fuckin' energy orbs."

Scar-Cheek Rick didn't even flinch at the other Rick's words. His stare remained cold and hard and his hand holding up his gun remained steady. "Get the fuck out of here, now, or I'll kill you. We're not discussing this anymore. You leave and you go on living, or you try to take him, and you fucking die. If you think letting somebody rape your grandchild is okay, I can't fucking help you... But I won't let you take him back."

Regular-Rick 2 felt his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at Rick Q-405, who was looking increasingly on-edge and agitated as he kept his laser gun pointed directly at Morty and Regular-Rick 2. Morty whimpered softly in Regular-Rick 2s arms, flinching slightly as though struggling to wake up from a nightmare. He choked out a tiny, shaking groan, like he was in a lot of pain. He was trembling too, more and more as he struggled to wake back up.

Regular-Rick-2 held Morty securely against his chest. "You'll be alright, Morty... We're gonna get you out of here..." Regular-Rick 2 whispered. There was no fucking way he was giving Morty up to this man. He would die first.

"Give him here, motherfucker." Rick Q-405 growled. "It's not up to you what I do with him. You're not the fuckin' Morty police. He's mine. If I want to lend him out to a pervy sultan, that's up to me. He's a dumb little fuckup, pretty much useless. Offering nasty sexual gratification to some dumbfuck who thinks it's valuable enough to give me energy orbs for it is all he's good for. He belongs to me... I can rent him out like a tiny little prostitute if that's wh-"

He was suddenly cut off when Scar-Cheek Rick fired his laser, zapping Rick Q-405 into nothing.

Regular-Rick 2 felt his mouth drop open as he stared in shock. They had briefly discussed killing this Rick... but he kind of never felt like they were actually going to... He supposed Scar-Cheek Rick's decision to just end the man right here and now solved the biggest issue they had left to deal with though. The man wouldn't come after Morty again now.

"Come on." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled, taking his own portal gun out of his coat and shooting a glowing green portal out in front of him. "Let's go... I'm blowing this whole place up. I'm so god damned sick of these nasty rapist fucks and enabling god damned perverts." He headed toward the portal, pulled a pin out of some sort of grenade Regular-Rick 2 didn't even recognize, and tossed it back into the room.

Regular-Rick 2 grimaced and quickly followed, portaling back to their star-ship before Scar-Cheek Rick's grenade went off.

"We don't have any loose ends to tie up anymore." Scar-Cheek Rick stated very matter-of-factly as soon as they were back on the star ship.

Fat-Rick frowned as he headed toward them. "What happened?" He noticed Morty in Regular-Rick 2's arms and immediately focused on him. "Jesus... Is he okay?"

"His Rick took him back to The Sultan. The Sultan must have electrocuted him with something... He's passed out... We've gotta make sure he's not hurt in a significant way..." Regular-Rick 2 breathed. "He's got welts all over him... He was undressed... I don't know what all The Sultan got to before I got there... I wish we got there sooner..."

"Blew up the castle. Sultan, Rick Q-405, and all the Sultan's gross fuckin' creep friends are gone now." Scar-Cheek Rick grumbled. "Bring him to Morty Room 2. There's a good first aide kit in there." He ordered, leading the way as Regular-Rick 2 and Fat-Rick followed.

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	23. Chapter 23

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Chapter 23

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"God damn it, I wish I could kill them all again..." Scar-Cheek Rick breathed as he threw open the door to Morty Room 2 and watched Regular-Rick 2 place Morty carefully on the bed. Scar-Cheek Rick wasn't sure he'd ever hated anyone more than he hated this Morty's Rick or The Sultan. Even The Sultan's men were fucking awful - sitting back and allowing the man to hurt Morty without intervening. This poor little kid had gotten mixed up with all the worst people imaginable... and even his own Rick was among them.

"What do we need out of the first aide kit?" Fat-Rick breathed as he retrieved it and brought it over, placing it on the edge of the bed and opening it up. "What are the welts? Are those burns of some kind?"

"Electrocution I'm pretty sure." Regular-Rick 2 guessed. "Let's try the flugaree wax gel."

At about this time, Morty began to stir, blinking his eyes weakly and moaning a soft, shaking breath. He wasn't really speaking as much as making pained noises. Each of his breaths sounded sharp, barely able to make their way in and out of his mouth as silent tears streamed down his cheeks. Morty continued making awful, pained moaning noises as he regained consciousness.

"You're gonna be okay, kiddo." Fat-Rick promised, placing a hand on Morty's forehead and brushing some strands of hair damp with sweat off of the boy's face. "Try to breathe... I know it hurts. You're safe now. You're with us and we're fixing you up..."

Morty's eyelids continued to flutter as he reached with shaking fingers up toward Regular-Rick 2's hands, as the man started to pull back the white lab coat he'd wrapped Morty in earlier. "D-" He choked, his fingers fumbling weakly at Regular-Rick 2's hands. "Pl... Please..." He whimpered.

"It's okay." Regular-Rick 2 spoke in a low voice. "I won't hurt you. It's just me... You're safe."

"No..." Morty choked weakly as tears spilled down his cheeks. His movements were so soft, so weak. He seemed to be trying to push Regular-Rick 2 away from him, but barely managed to lift his arms, much less shove the man back.

"It's me, Morty... Regular-Rick 2... Scar-Cheek Rick and Fat-Rick are here with me. It's just us. You're safe." Regular-Rick 2 promised. "We're trying to help you. Just try to breathe."

"H-hurts..." Morty whimpered breathlessly, grabbing Regular-Rick 2's hand and squeezing. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was visibly shaking. "Th-the Sultan..." He moaned. "Sh-shock-shocked..." He was clearly having trouble getting the words out. "I th-think it's h-hurting w-worse and worse... I ca-can't-"

"Shhh... It's okay... Fat-Rick." Scar-Cheek Rick turned toward his companion. "I need that gel. He's not just being dramatic... He can hardly breathe. We need to get this sorted out fast..."

Fat-Rick nodded, handing Scar-Cheek Rick a tube of ointment as the sound of Morty's pained, shaking cries filled the room. "Ubixian shock rods are a torture tool used on this planet. From my research on the subject, I found accounts of the pain worsening over time before healing ever beings. Poor little guy's in so much pain..." He noted. "That sultan is a real prick for doing this to him..."

"Jesus Christ..." Regular-Rick 2 breathed. "He's a fucking child... Was it not enough to fucking rape him? He had to torture him too?"

"Morty, I'm gonna apply some cream to these... It'll numb them a bit and make them heal faster..." Scar-Cheek Rick informed the boy. He remembered Morty had been very fearful about being too close to anyone or allowing anyone to really touch him before, and certainly didn't want the kid to freak out when Scar-Cheek Rick was only trying to help him. "Is that okay?" He asked.

"P-please m-make it stop... It hurts..." Morty whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut and squeezing Regular-Rick 2's hand tightly in his own.

Scar-Cheek Rick squirted some of the ointment into his palm and started to work, rubbing a generous portion of cream on each of the welts, starting with the ones on the boy's arms, then moving to the ones on his chest.

"Can I get the ones on your thighs, Morty?" Regular-Rick 2 asked. "I won't hurt you. I promise..."

"I know..." Morty breathed, biting his lower lip.

Scar-Cheek Rick frowned as he focused his attention on Regular-Rick 2, who was the first one to find Morty in The Sultan's room. The man knew Morty had these same welts on his upper-thighs, near his groin. Had The Sultan done that deliberately? Trying to make Morty as embarrassed and traumatized as possible?

"You're okay, Morty... I promise I won't hurt you." Regular-Rick 2 assured the kid again as he pushed his lab coat up just enough to uncover the welts under it. Scar-Cheek Rick could see Morty tense and heard the boy's breath catch in his throat as Regular-Rick 2's fingertips spread the gel onto each of the welts down there.

With a tiny, shaking whimper, Morty reached out and grabbed Scar-Cheek Rick's hand, squeezing it hard while biting his lower lip and frowning down at Regular-Rick 2 as the man tended to his injuries.

"You're going to be alright, Morty..." Scar-Cheek Rick swallowed a lump in his throat as he stared down at the kid. He could feel Morty shaking as the boy gripped his hand tighter than he realized Morty was even capable. The pain had to be becoming more manageable if Morty's tight grip on Scar-Cheek Rick's hand was any indication. A moment before, the boy seemed barely able to even lift his arms. Now his hold seemed pretty secure.

"Are they starting to hurt less?" Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "The gel should numb them a bit, and then healing should be sped up from there... You can put more on a couple times a day as needed... It's typically for various types of burns, including chemical and electrical... Fat-Rick concocted it..."

"I think..." Morty breathed, still staring at Regular-Rick 2 until the man finished applying the cream and pulled his lab coat back down over Morty's lap. "I th-think it's s-starting to feel better..." He whispered.

"Good." Regular-Rick 2 breathed. "You hurt anywhere else? Did he hit you? Did your Rick? Do you think you've got any broken bones?" He stepped back and looked Morty up and down. Besides for the coat covering his groin, he was entirely exposed... He actually didn't have any new visible injuries besides the welts.

Morty inhaled and exhaled shakily, shrinking down as he looked around himself, noticing the room, the three Ricks... Maybe he hadn't been able to focus enough before, when he was in so much pain. "A-are we on your space ship?" He whispered, completely ignoring Regular-Rick 2's question. "Y-you killed The Sultan?"

"Yes and yes. Are you hurt anywhere else?" Regular-Rick 2 asked again. "You're safe now. We just need to make sure you don't have any other injuries. You don't need to be afraid to tell us. We'll help you. As gently as possible."

Morty swallowed and shook his head no.

"You sure?" Regular-Rick 2 frowned. "I know it might be scary, embarrassing... But we can help. You don't need to be ashamed by it. Nothing that happened was your fault."

Morty let out a shaking breath. Tears shined in his eyes as he looked toward Scar-Cheek Rick and ignored Regular-Rick 2's pressing questions yet again. "I-if my Rick comes back and tries to take me... Wh-what are we gonna do?"

"He won't." Scar-Cheek Rick noted rather simply. "He definitely fucking won't."

Morty shook his head and sniffed back tears. "Yes he will. He fucking sold me... He thinks I'm like his property... He's gonna come back. He knows where The Morty Safe Haven is. Don't make me go back there. Let me stay with you... Please don't let him take me... I know The Sultan's gone... But Rick's still gonna want to take me. Don't let him... He found me before. He'll do it again. I don't e-even know how he found me, but he did... W-what are we gonna do? He's going to be so fucking mad at me... He's going to find me again..."

"No he won't, Morty. He's gone." Scar-Cheek Rick persisted. "He's dead."

"H-he is?" Morty whispered, swallowing as his lip trembled. He looked even more upset now.

"He can't hurt you, or leave you with anyone who will... He's gone. He's never going to have any say in anything you do ever again. He can't fucking take you anywhere. You're safe from him. Forever." Scar-Cheek Rick repeated.

"But... W-what do you mean... He died?" Morty spoke in a tiny voice.

The boy's shoulders slumped like this news was disappointing, which made just about zero sense to Scar-Cheek Rick. The guy left him with a rapist... He dislocated Morty's shoulder. And that was just recent stuff. He was an abusive piece of shit. Morty should have been happy he was dead.

"He was trying to take you, Morty..." Regular-Rick 2 noted. "After I killed The Sultan, I was carrying you out of there... Your Rick confronted me and wouldn't let us leave. He threatened to shoot me, even with you right there in my arms. He said he didn't care if it accidentally hit you instead... I realize you still loved him... but we had to get you out of there. He wouldn't let us..."

"I had to kill him." Scar-Cheek Rick spoke, not feeling the least bit remorseful about it. "He sold you to a rapist... You escaped and he took you back and did it again. He went through so much trouble to make sure this fucking rapist got to have you... He dislocated your shoulder..."

"I know..." Morty whispered, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I understand that he didn't love me. He was cruel... And maybe I didn't love him either... Maybe I just wanted to love him... W-wanted him to love me back..." Morty's voice shook as his lip quivered.

"It's okay." Regular-Rick 2 reached over and squeezed Morty's hand. "Its okay that you feel conflicted about this... He was your grandfather. Family's... you know... a fuckin' mess sometimes... I get it."

Morty nodded silently, squeezing Regular-Rick 2's hand in his own.

"Morty, did your Rick or The Sultan... or anybody else hurt you anywhere else? Anywhere we can't see?" Scar-Cheek Rick frowned, feeling sick even suggesting it, but knowing how likely it was. They needed to get back to making sure Morty was physically okay first and foremost, whether the boy really wanted to talk about it or not. It had to be discussed.

Regular-Rick 2 found him first. He was the one to dispatch The Sultan... but Scar-Cheek Rick did see the state Morty was in when he arrived, and that was completely naked, wrapped up in Regular-Rick 2's coat, passed out, in horrible pain... They had found him in The Sultan's bedroom. Morty wasn't wearing any clothes. The possibilities were very sickeningly fucking obvious. Ubixians were large beings. If The Sultan raped him, Morty could be legitimately seriously injured.

Morty quickly shook his head, shrinking down as though nervous.

Scar-Cheek Rick furrowed his brow. "You sure? We don't all have to be in here to help you if you're hurt. I know it's not-"

"I'm sure. I'm okay..." Morty interrupted. He looked nervously around the room and his breaths still sounded labored. The welts probably still hurt quite a bit. The ointment made the pain manageable, but didn't erase it all together.

Scar-Cheek Rick exhaled tiredly. He knew he shouldn't keep pressing this issue, but he had a bad feeling Morty might not tell the truth with all three of them there. He was only beginning to trust them, and having three men he really didn't know all that well hovering around him, demanding details on this traumatic experience was probably pretty scary.

Glancing with a frown toward Regular-Rick 2, Scar-Cheek Rick felt like he could tell what the other man was thinking - he was unsure of Morty's response as well. Regular-Rick glanced quickly from Fat-Rick to Scar-Cheek Rick, then down toward Morty, probably noticing exactly what Scar-Cheek Rick did - that Morty might be overwhelmed by having too many people asking too many questions, being too close...

"Fat-Rick... Can I talk to you for a minute in the hall?" Scar-Cheek Rick spoke up, silently nodding toward Regular-Rick 2 who gave him a knowing look and nodded back. Without speaking it out loud, they both understood that Morty seemed to trust Regular-Rick 2 the most, and that talking with him alone might yield more honest, complete answers from the boy.

Fat-Rick followed Scar-Cheek Rick out into the hall, where Scar-Cheek Rick immediately leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"I think he's okay now." Fat-Rick noted.

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head, keeping his eyes closed. "Of course he is... but..." He trailed off. He still felt so fucking angry at Rick Q-405 for not caring about his Morty any more than this. Mortys were frustrating, sometimes Scar-Cheek Rick would be pretty blunt and describe them as nothing short of stupid or annoying... but they were innocent. They wanted to help, wanted to be accepted, loved, taken care of. They wanted to feel safe.

How the fuck could someone look at Morty - any version of him - see and hear him shaking, crying, begging not to be hurt... and just leave him with a man who was a confirmed sexual abuser? How could his Rick knowingly leave him with The Sultan, when he knew exactly what The Sultan wanted to do to him?

"If The Sultan or his Rick hurt him more, we'll deal with it." Fat-Rick put his hand lightly on Scar-Cheek Rick's arm. "I know it's fucking awful... but he'll be okay. This is what we signed up to do, Rick... The Mortys we find aren't ever the ones who live happy, carefree lives. That's why they need us."

"I know." Scar-Cheek Rick kept his eyes closed, and didn't shove Fat-Rick's hand away like he normally would. The other two Ricks on this ship were way too fucking' nice. They barely even seemed like Ricks half the time. It had taken a while to get used to them after he first joined them, looking for his own Morty. Scar-Cheek Rick still often felt like he was the odd-man out, the only Rick-like Rick, the only one who didn't seem too nice to be real... Maybe it was working with all the sad, hurt little Mortys they found that softened them up. Maybe Scar-Cheek Rick was growing softer too.

He opened his eyes and looked at Fat-Rick, who looked kind of sad as he looked back. "Regular-Rick 2 will find out what happened... and we'll fix him up however we need to. We'll help him physically, emotionally... however he needs to be helped. He went through a lot, but he'll be okay. If anyone can deal with it, it's us. That includes you."

"You think so?" Scar-Cheek Rick laughed. "I'm kind of an asshole."

Fat-Rick shrugged. "You're a Rick... and in case you didn't notice, he fucking loves you. He slept on the floor near the control panel twice, just to be close to you, Rick."

Scar-Cheek Rick smiled, then shook his head. "I don't know why he seems like a little more than the other Mortys we've found... I've always seen the others as mostly all the same in a way... Because obviously they are, in a very fucking obvious way. But this one... I don't know. I just feel... like weirdly protective. More than normal."

"I think we all do. He's been through a lot. Not that the other Mortys haven't as well. Maybe it's because his own Rick hurt him and enabled others to do the same. We're usually saving Mortys whose Ricks died. The Rick still being alive isn't usually the problem." Fat-Rick noted.

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head. He was never not going to be viciously offended that Morty Q-405's Rick allowed him to be hurt... The man hurt him himself, then passed him off on someone else who he knew would hurt him even worse. Ricks could be harsh, but god damn that was fucking cruel.

"Are we going to keep him?" Fat-Rick wondered. "No one's after him now... He should be as safe with us as he is with any other Rick... He knows us already, so it'll be an easier transition for him."

Scar-Cheek Rick stared at the other man. He honestly couldn't think of a good reason not to let Morty stay with them. They all wanted him to stay. They each felt a connection to him specifically that they hadn't quite stumbled into with other Mortys they rescued.

"I could tailor some of Regular-Rick 2's clothes to fit him... He could dress like us." Fat-Rick smirked. "He could help us rescue Mortys... and he's a Morty too, but he could be like a cute little mini-Rick Morty..."

Scar-Cheek Rick felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "We'll see what Regular-Rick 2 feels about it... I'm hoping he's going to get some answers out of him... See if he even wants to stay with us anymore... We kind of fucked up..." His smile fell into a frown when he realized this as he said it. "We shouldn't have left him alone anywhere until these people were gone... We knew they might come after him."

"Lots of people might come after any Morty..." Fat-Rick reminded him. "We did what we thought was enough. He won't blame us."

"He won't." Scar-Cheek Rick frowned. "I do."

Fat-Rick shook his head. "We saved him, Rick. Twice. And that was just from The Sultan. You saved him on Earth G-116... From actual fucking cannibals. And when the Ubixians boarded our ship. You alone saved him twice."

"We should have only had to save him once." Scar-Cheek Rick noted. "Go find him some clothes and I'll check the navigation... I'll make sure no one's following us... There shouldn't be, but we should fucking start paying attention a little more. Can't keep fucking up. Let's give Regular-Rick 2 some time to talk some answers out of him."

"Alright..." Fat-Rick frowned. "You didn't know his Rick would find him... None of us did. I don't even know how it happened... We did our best. Don't beat yourself up about it."

Scar-Cheek Rick shook his head. Ricks always beat themselves up about everything. That wasn't new. Scar-Cheek Rick was always going to blame himself for his own Morty disappearing. Now he could blame himself for this one getting further injured and traumatized too...

But maybe, just maybe, he could do better from here. Maybe he and his friends could give this poor little Morty a better life, finally give him what he'd been looking for for so long, love, support, a family... a bit of safety. They could help this one in a bigger way the usual...

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	24. Chapter 24

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Chapter 24

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"May I sit next to you, Morty?" Regular-Rick 2 asked after the other two Ricks left the room.

Morty nodded, looking down as he wrapped the lab coat more securely around himself. "Sorry I'm getting that numbing stuff all over this..." He whispered.

"That's okay. It'll wash out." Rick smiled softly, reaching over and helping Morty cover more of himself with the coat as he sat down next to him.

"Th-thanks, Rick..." Morty whispered.

Rick forced a small smile. "I'm sorry all this happened to you..."

"It's okay..." Morty spoke in a tiny voice. "It's not your fault."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Rick swallowed nervously.

Morty shrugged. "I'm not any more hurt besides the welts, Rick. I promise." He whispered, blinking wide eyes up at Rick. "I know what it looked like... W-what you think happened... But it didn't happen. It almost did."

Rick nodded slightly, hoping Morty was telling the truth.

"He kinda did what the soldier who got onto the ship did... D-did Scar-Cheek Rick tell you about that?" Morty whispered.

Rick frowned. "Yes. He did..."

"W-well... He did that... W-with his fingers." Morty looked down. "B-but that's it. He didn't have time to do it for real. You got there in time."

"Morty..." Rick frowned. The guy did 'do it for real.' Being digitally raped was still rape.

"I mean he like was gonna do more... I know... I had this talk with Scar-Cheek Rick already." Morty laughed nervously. "I know what he did was wrong. It was bad and it's okay that I'm upset. I know that... J-just... He was gonna do worse and he didn't... He w-was going to really, really hurt me... L-like actual rape - like the worst kind... But he didn't get that far, b-because you stopped him."

Rick swallowed and nodded, feeling proud of both Morty and Scar-Cheek Rick. Morty was so brave, and Scar-Cheek Rick had clearly had a very heartfelt discussion with Morty last time. Regular-Rick 2 didn't know that. He kind of expected his colleague would feel way too uncomfortable to even discuss this with the kid, or would at best say all the wrong things, but it seemed like he had done a pretty good job validating Morty's feelings and not being at all dismissive.

"Rick took me to the basement of the castle after he snuck into my room at the safe haven... or the dungeon or something. Whatever it was, there were chains and cuffs and he locked my arms up above my head... Th-then The Sultan came down and had this big metal rod he shocked me with." Morty let out a nervous laugh. "I thought... I mean, I didn't know what the metal thing was. He said I had to suffer because his men got killed because of me... And I- And I thought..."

Rick furrowed his brow, allowing Morty to continue as the boy seemed more than willing to tell this story in more detail than Rick had expected him to.

"Y-you know... since he tried to rape me before... I thought th-that's what the rod was for... It was kind of big for that... I was really scared... But I was almost kinda glad when he shocked me instead... But it hurt so bad, Rick." Morty stuck his lower lip out in a pout as tears welled up in his eyes. "I didn't want him t-to rape me... but what he did do hurt so bad."

"I know..." Rick breathed, feeling tears pricking his own eyes as well. Poor Morty had been through hell tonight.

"Then I g-guess I kinda passed out... B-because the next thing I knew, I was being taken up to his room. He put me on his bed, and I could barely move. The shocks he did with the metal thing hurt so bad still. I could barely move. I couldn't really shove him away or fight back. I mean, I seriously like could barely move, Rick. I wasn't tied down or passed out, but I sorta just had to lay there while he did w-whatever he wanted. He made me kiss him." Morty frowned. "A-and he put his hand in my underwear and like grabbed me... I tried to fight back, to p-push him away, but I couldn't."

Rick felt anger bubbling up inside him, but tried not to let it show. He didn't want his reaction to make Morty scared to tell him the rest.

"And then he took my underwear off, and he made me suck on one of his fingers. I told him no, but he grabbed my neck and started choking me." Morty's voice was tiny, shaking slightly with unshed tears. "I had to do what he said, Rick... H-he would have strangled me otherwise."

"I understand... It's okay, Morty... There was nothing you could have done. None of this is your fault." Rick assured him. "Whatever you had to do so he wouldn't hurt you more is still his fault. Even if you feel like you allowed something because you were scared, it's still his fault and only his fault."

"H-he made me suck on his finger... I w-wasn't going to, b-but he choked me and I didn't know w-what else to do... So he shoved it in m-my mouth. I th-think t-to ma-make it slippery..." Rick noticed Morty's nearly always present stutter was becoming worse as he retold the more traumatizing parts of this story. "Th-then he... p-put his hand down..." He nodded down toward his lap as he brought his feet up onto the bed and curled himself into a small ball next to Rick, leaning up against the man's arm.

Rick felt his breath catch in his throat. He still wasn't sure what Morty was going to say. What all the man had had time to do, how long Morty had to suffer, how hurt he might be. When he made it to The Sultan's room, the sick fucker had Morty on the edge of his bed, completely undressed with his legs bent and pushed up. Morty's legs were spread and his ankles were each resting on one of The Sultan's shoulders, giving the bastard full access to do any number of awful things. Rick couldn't tell what The Sultan had been doing, as the man was facing away from him, blocking Rick's view.

"You can tell me, Morty..." Rick spoke in a low voice as he hugged his arm around Morty's shoulders. "Nothing that happened is your fault... You know that, right?"

"Y-yeah..." Morty whispered.

Rick forced a tiny smile as reassurance, even though Morty wasn't even looking at him to see the gesture. "It's okay..." He promised. "You can tell me..."

"He..." Morty hesitated, closing his eyes and shrinking down. "He k-kinda... rubbed... a-and then y-you know... L-like the other guy did... He s-stuck it... h-his finger... He stuck it in... and then g-got s-some kind of oil, and stuck in t-two fingers... And h-he did that f-for a minute, and th-then I think he was gonna do it for real, but he changed his mind, b-because it wouldn't fit, so he went back to using his fingers, and making me rub... um... his... you know... He didn't do it for very long though. You got there then, and killed him. It sorta hurt, but not bad enough that it's like actually an injury... I don't need to go to a hospital or anything. He barely did the worst thing. It wouldn't fit... You showed up and exploded him before he could try that again. Th-then I passed out."

Rick exhaled. That was definitely awful, but it seemed like he'd gotten there pretty much exactly when he needed to to prevent the worst of it. Morty wasn't hurt. The Sultan could ave done a lot worse, and judging by Morty's story, he was very close to using his penis and really hurting the boy. If the Ricks hadn't been alerted that Morty's Rick had taken him The Sultan would have gotten all the time to do whatever he wanted...

Rick didn't want to think about what The Sultan would have done if given more time, but he couldn't keep the thoughts out of his head. He had clearly been preparing to rape Morty, starting with his fingers... Even what he had managed to do was still rape, even if he only barely started... But he would have kept going if he had been allowed to. He would have pushed his fingers all the way in, maybe added a third, a forth. Ubixian hands were fairly large. That alone would have hurt. And then what? He wouldn't have stopped there. Ubixian anatomy was very similar to earth humans. He probably would have used his penis next... which would have hurt a lot, considering Morty was small even for a human... and Ubxians were quite big.

And Morty's Rick had previously made a deal to leave the boy with The Sultan for several days... This wouldn't have been a one-time thing. The Sultan would have assaulted Morty every day. Likely multiple times per day. There was no way Morty wouldn't have sustained significant injuries from it.

"I was really scared..." Morty whispered after a moment.

Rick frowned as he stared back, nodding slightly. Morty had tears in his eyes and his lower lip quivered.

"I know he barely did it... b-but I was really scared." Morty said again.

"That's valid, Morty. It's okay to be upset by that. Just because it could have been worse doesn't mean what happened was fine. He had no right to touch you, to hurt you to the point where you could barely even move, and then touch you when you didn't want him to." Rick agreed, wanting to make sure Morty knew he didn't have to repress this and pretend it didn't bother him. "If you're mad, sad, scared... That's fine. You have a right to be."

Morty sniffed back tears and leaned close against Rick's side, allowing the man to put an arm around his shoulders.

"You're okay now. They're all gone. None of that's going to happen again... But it's fine that you're upset. You don't have to pretend, Morty. This doesn't change who you are. You're not even a tiny bit responsible for this. No matter what, okay?" Rick promised.

Morty sniffed and nodded, blinking back tears.

Rick exhaled and pulled Morty closer. He and Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick should have prevented this. They should have kept Morty with them, kept him close... He tried to escape twice because they weren't watching close enough. Ubixians boarded the sip and hurt him... again, because they didn't keep an eye on him. And then they passed him off on other Ricks who also let him get taken away.

None of this was Morty's fault, but maybe it was Rick's fault, and the other Ricks. Morty couldn't help that bad people were after him... The Ricks made it their job to look after Mortys... and they failed.

"Morty... I'm so fucking sorry..." Rick breathed.

"W-why?" Morty looked up at him, blinking his huge eyes in confusion.

"We knew they might come after you... We left you alone..." Rick frowned.

"You didn't know he'd find me..." Morty frowned. "They came after me when you had me with you too... R-Rick could have found me here... He could have killed you guys and taken me..."

"I guess." Rick breathed, shaking his head. He supposed Morty was right. He wasn't ever going to truly be safe until his Rick and The Sultan were gone... no matter where they had stashed him in the meantime.

"Rick... Don't feel guilty..." Morty went on, his voice tiny.

Rick shook his head. "We just left you in a bedroom by yourself... We knew your Rick or these pervert Ubixians might try to find you..."

Morty laughed softly. "Well, what could we have done different, Rick? Handcuffed me to one of you? You all did what was reasonable. If I was being guarded like a criminal, it would have scared me..."

Rick exhaled, but nodded. Obviously treating Morty like a prisoner wouldn't have been fair, it it wasn't like they actually knew the other Rick was going to find him.

"It's not your fault either." Morty spoke, leaning close to Rick and closing his eyes. "What happened was scary, but you're right. They're gone. I'm okay now... It was upsetting... B-but I'm alright..." He whispered.

"Are you cold, Morty?" Rick frowned when he felt Morty shivering next to him. Maybe he was still just scared. He was definitely shaking.

"Yeah..." Morty laughed softly.

"Here..." Rick reached back and grabbed up a few blankets off the bed, wrapping them around Morty's shoulders. "I can go find you some clothes-" He started, beginning to stand.

"No!" Morty breathed, reaching a small hand out of his mound of blankets and Rick's coat and grabbing at the man's sleeve. "Don't leave... C-can't you just stay here for a while... J-just sit with me?" He asked.

"I guess..." Rick swallowed, settling back down on the mattress and looking down at Morty with a frown. The kid seemed a lot more at ease now, and his shivering had all but stopped now that he was wrapped up in so many layers.

Morty exhaled and leaned against Rick's arm, closing his eyes. "Thanks for finding me... For saving me from them. Both times." He whispered. "I wasn't sure if anyone w-was gonna save me. The first time, I thought my Rick would... But he didn't... and I didn't think anyone else was out there. Th-then the second time, I j-just thought I was screwed, because the only person who knew I was gone and what happened was the Morty in my room who doesn't really talk much... He's so scared... I wanted him to tell someone... but I wouldn't have been mad at him if he didn't."

Regular-Rick 2 put his arm carefully around Morty's shoulders, frowning as he stared down at the boy who seemed content to fall asleep right here, still wearing nothing, but wrapped up in Rick's coat and a blanket.

Regular-Rick 2 didn't often get this close to other Mortys. Mortys were often pretty quick to want hugs and affection shown to them, but they were also scared and cautious. It was a strange combination - for the various versions of this boy to both be paranoid and scared of the Ricks, and to also trust them so quickly. And for this Morty, who had been physically abused by his Rick, and sexually assaulted by people his Rick allowed access to him, to trust Regular-Rick 2 this much, this quickly, was strange.

Morty felt so small and vulnerable under Rick's arm as Rick hugged him close. It was heartbreaking to know his own Rick could have hugged him like this, could have given him comfort and a sense of safety... But instead saw this same little boy Regular-Rick 2 was holding and observing right now, and chose to hand him over to a sexual abuser instead.

Rick Q-405 had this tiny, loving, sweet, precious little Morty in his care... A disgusting sexual predator asked him if he could pretty much buy Morty... and Rick, knowing the man was going to hurt his little grandson... just let him take him. It was so fucking sickening.

"And Scar-Cheek Rick too." Morty added. "I guess if he shot my Rick, he kinda helped you save me. And all three of you actually... Over and over... W-with the cannibal people... And Fat-Rick helping get the cuffs off and not getting mad when I freaked out... Being nice to me when Scar-Cheek Rick was angry about the navigation panel and he scared me. You guys have all been so nice, so patient... I wish I could stay with you. Traveling through the dimensions in space - doing what my Rick and I always did, only in a way that's fun. Without being constantly mocked and degraded and hit..."

Rick smiled slightly. Morty really could stay now... No one was after him - obviously stowing him at the Safe Haven until those loose ends were tied up wasn't even a good idea.

"How did you know I was there?" Morty wondered, looking up at Rick with wide eyes and a furrowed brow. "Your timing was like... really good. I mean, I know he shocked me and did some other stuff, but he like... had my legs bent, with his fingers in my butt... He was pushing them in and out, and said he had like butt dilators..." Morty shivered and closed his eyes. "Fuck, Rick... Like ten minutes later and he'd have probably shoved all sorts of stuff in my butt. Y-you know... L-like to stretch it, so his... p-penis would fit... Fuck..." He grimaced, probably just now really letting it sink in how awful things could have gotten for him if he had been left alone with The Sultan for much longer.

Rick shook his head. "None of that matters, Morty. He didn't get the chance to do worse, and he won't. No one will. You're not getting into that kind of situation ever again."

"I hope you're right, Rick." Morty agreed. "But how did you find me so fast?"

Rick exhaled. "Probably exactly the way you'd guess, Morty. We got a call from the Morty Safe Haven... Your room mate told them your Rick came and stole you. He had a lot to say considering he hadn't spoken in weeks..."

"I got him to talk to me." Morty shrugged. "I mean, he didn't say much, but I felt like we were getting there."

"How?" Regular-Rick 2 frowned. "He was so skittish... None of us could get him to say a damn word."

"I don't know... I just talked to him. Told him it was okay that he was scared and upset... that I was too... I told him some stuff about what happened to me." Morty whispered. "Then he told me thank you for talking to him, but he stayed hidden in the closet. He was still in there when Rick came and took me. He saw it happen."

Rick nodded. "Morty... That's significant... That you got him to talk. You know that, right?"

Morty shrugged and continued looking down.

"It is." Rick persisted. "He was so scared, so traumatized. You helped him just by sitting with him and talking to him. He hadn't said shit since we found him, and you got him to talk just by being there for one night."

"Well..." Morty breathed. "I just thought... Like maybe he wouldn't feel so alone if he knew what happened to me... if he knew my life was shit too..."

Rick laughed softly. "Your life's gonna be better from here, Morty. But what you did for Morty XB-4 was awesome. I want you to know that... You could be a big help around here, or around the Safe Haven. The Mortys we rescue could use someone like you to calm them down right when we find them. I think it would be far less frightening to them to hear it coming from a Morty than a Rick."

"So..." Morty frowned. "W-what are you saying?"

"That we could use your help. We've got three Morty rooms... Usually only rescue one or two at a time, and you seem like you'd do a good job in areas maybe we Ricks couldn't." Rick explained.

Morty smiled and looked up at him. "D-do you... Are you saying I can stay?" He breathed. "Like stay and help you guys, and like... You guys would adopt me? It would be like long-term? I can stay here?"

Rick shrugged. "If the others agree... which I know they will... and if you still want to."

"I do." Morty whispered, wrapping his arms around Rick and hugging him. "I do want to stay."

"I want you to stay too." Rick's voice was small as well, just barely shaking with unshed tears. He couldn't let himself get choked up... He couldn't cry in front of Morty.

"Thank you, Rick... For all of this... What you and the other Ricks do is amazing... I was so scared of all three of you at first..." Morty frowned.

"I know..." Regular-Rick 2 agreed. Morty was more scared of them than almost any other Morty they'd rescued. He came from a very cruel Rick though, so it made sense. He also seemed to bond with them a lot faster, and in a lot stronger a way than most Mortys.

"But you guys are saving Mortys and you don't have to. You do it anyway. I guess Mortys tend to be magnet to danger and misfortune, and you help them. None of you get mad in a scary way... even when I did things that were really destructive and dumb. That's really cool." Morty smiled. "I know Ricks don't like to get mushy and emotional... but I feel like you and Fat-Rick and Scar-Cheek Rick and me... We could be a family."

Regular-Rick 2 smiled and hugged Morty securely around his shoulders, allowing the boy to lean into him. He couldn't replace the Mortys each of them lost, but Rick felt like a little corner of his heart he didn't know he had might have maybe stayed dormant just so this Morty could have it. Maybe the other Ricks felt the same way.

Each of the Ricks on this ship had their own Morty once, with a personality all his own. This Morty seemed to share a mixed bag of traits with each of the ones they lost. He was by no means a replacement, but those small things, reminders of the Mortys that were gone, were precious. They helped each of these Ricks bond so closely with this specific Morty. He was their second chance. Their opportunity to be protective and nurturing and not make the same mistakes they made with their original Mortys.

"I think you're right, Morty..." Rick agreed, pulling Morty close and closing his eyes as he rested his chin on Morty's hair. "We all lost someone or none of us would be here... But we are all here now, and it works. We really could be a family."

xxxxxx

THE END

xxxxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This story was quite an adventure for me. It didn't really turn out how I first envisioned, but I think it took some great turns and ended up so much better than my original concept. I appreciate everyone's comments and support so much and am so glad you've all seemed to enjoy the story...
> 
> I've got three more Rick and Morty stories I'll be posting one by one in the near future. They are significantly shorter than this one (about 20,000 words each,) but they are somewhat similar in theme. You'll probably like them if you've enjoyed my other Rick and Morty stories... So stay tuned!!


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